12 Adoniram Judson, Missionary to Burma, 1850 was an American Congregationalist and later Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson[1] became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America[2] to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionaries.
14 Edward Thomas Demby, 1957, and Henry Beard Delany, 1928, Bishops
15 Damien, Priest and Leper, 1889, and Marianne, Religious, 1918, of Molokai
16 Mary (Molly) Brant (Konwatsijayenni), Witness to the Faith among the Mohawks, 1796
19 Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012 officially remembered by the name Alphege within some churches,[2][3] and also called Elphege, Alfege,[5] or Godwine,[6] was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His perceived piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually, to his becoming archbishop
FIRST READING: Acts 4: 32 - 35 (RCL, Roman Catholic)
Acts 4:32 (NRSV) Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Exodus 14: 10 - 30, 15: 20 - 21 (alt. for C of E)
Exod 14:10 (NRSV) As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, "Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." 13 But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers."
19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged {Sam Gk Syr: MT [removed] } their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 {The Pursuers Drowned} Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
15:20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:
""Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."
PSALM 133 (RCL)
Psal 133:1 (NRSV) How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
life forevermore.
133 Ecce, quam bonum! (ECUSA BCP)
1 Oh, how good and pleasant it is, *
when brethren live together in unity!
2 It is like fine oil upon the head *
that runs down upon the beard,
3 Upon the beard of Aaron, *
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
4 It is like the dew of Hermon *
that falls upon the hills of Zion.
5 For there the Lord has ordained the blessing: *
life for evermore.
Psalm 118: 2 - 4, 13 - 15, 22 - 24 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 118:2 (NRSV) Let Israel say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
""The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
SECOND READING: 1 John 1: 1 - 2: 2 (RCL)
1Joh 1:1 (NRSV) We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
H/T Montreal Anglican
1 John is set in a Christian community from which some have dissented, e.g. over whether Jesus really became human (and suffered), or only appeared to do so. In 1:1, “we”, the author writing in the name of the teachers of a church which emphasized John (which the dissenters interpreted heretically) “declare to you ... concerning the word of life”, i.e. re Christ – who has existed “from the beginning”, from the very start of God’s creative activities (see also Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1). “We” , who preserve traditions from Jesus’ earthly life, declare that Jesus could be sensed (“heard ... seen ... touched”): he really was human! He was both “with the Father” ( 1:2, spiritual) and “revealed to us” . “We declare” ( 1:3) so that “you” may share in “fellowship”, communion, with each other, and with the Father and the Son. These relationships make Christian “joy ... complete” ( 1:4). Further, “God is light” ( 1:5), the light of humankind, absolute holiness without taint of sin.
1:6, 8 and 10 begin with dissenting views, heresies (“If ...”). Claiming that one is in unison with Christ while living evilly, unethically, is to live a lie ( 1:6); but if we live ethically, in a godly way (as Christ does), we are in community and Jesus’ sacrifice removes sin from us ( 1:7). Claiming that one is perfect (“have no sin”, 1:8) is to deceive oneself and deviate from God’s ways; but God will forgive us when we admit our deviations, and eradicate our ungodliness. Claiming that one has never deviated from God’s ways is to assert that God is wrong in saying that we are subject to sin, to “make him a liar” ( 1:10): one is not Christ-like. The author writes so that we may not deviate from godliness, (which is the ultimate goal of Christian living) ( 2:1), but should we sin, Jesus will intercede on our behalf with the Father, as our “advocate”. Jesus, through the cross, brings us into unison with God – as he does for all who will believe ( 2:2).
1 John is an exhortation rather than a letter. Scholars debate whether 1 John was written before or after the gospel according to John. 1 John rejects any gnostic interpretation of John.
1:1-2:2: “We”: The author uses “we” when associating himself with the guardians of the tradition (including eyewitnesses of Jesus) and handing on the tradition to others or when identifying himself with his readers in terms of their basic Christian experience. He often uses "I" in direct address or exhortation. [ NJBC]
To NJBC, the original setting seems to have been for initiation into the community. Although the New Testament does not contain a description of such a ceremony, he suggests a parallel with the initiation into the Qumran community described in 1QS (Rule of the Community) 1:18-3:22.
1:1: “ what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands”: As in the Gospel, testimony interrupts what “was from the beginning”. 1 John stresses the physical character of the revelation received by the community. [ NJBC]
1:1: “word of life”: The Greek translated “word” is logos, as in John 1:1. For Christ as the word and source of life, see John 1:14; 11:25; 14:6. [ NOAB] Note 1 John 5:13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life”. [ NJBC]
1:3: The “fellowship” is reciprocal as with each other.
1:4: “our joy may be complete”: An echo of (or is echoed in) John 15:11 and 16:24, where Jesus' discourses are to complete the joy of the disciples. John 17:13 makes this joy that of Jesus. [ NJBC]
1:5-7: “light ... darkness”: Those who live in the “light” are those who live according to God's commandments; those who live in “darkness” do not. The ethical distinction between “light” and “darkness” is often found in the Qumran literature: see, for example, 1QS (Rule of the Community) 3:13-4:26. [ NJBC]
1:5: “message”: The Greek word, angelia, occurs here and in 3:11. The verb form of the word is used for Mary's announcement of “I have seen the Lord” in John 20:18. It refers to the gospel preached by the Johannine teachers and reminds the readers of what they have heard when they became Christians. [ NJBC]
1:6: “walking in darkness” means habitual and intentional misconduct. John 3:19 says that before Christ came “... people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” and 1 John 2:11 “whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness”. [ NOAB]
1:10: “we make him a liar”: The secessionists are liars, as 2:22 suggests in a rhetorical question: “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?”. See also 2:4; 4:20; Psalms 14:1-2; 53:1-3. [ NOAB]
2:1: On not sinning as the ultimate goal of Christian living, Paul writes in Romans 6:11: “... you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. [ NOAB]
2:1: “advocate”: John 14:16-27 begins: “... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” [ NOAB] This verse represents a more primitive stage of the tradition: that Jesus is the advocate. [ NJBC]
2:2: “atoning sacrifice”: Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, as 4:10 also states: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”. [ NOAB]
2:3-5: Obedience to God’s commandments tests whether we know God, and measures the perfection/completeness of our love of God. In John 14:15, Jesus says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. See also 14:21, 23; 15:10. [ NOAB]
2:6: Jesus is the model for our obedience. [ NOAB]
GOSPEL: John 20: 19 - 31 (all)
John 20:19 (NRSV) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Early on Easter Day, Mary Magdalene has discovered that Jesus’ body is missing from the tomb; the stone door is open, so it looks as though someone has stolen it (v. 1). She has seen a man standing near the tomb. When he speaks to her, she recognizes him as Jesus. She has told the disciples: “I have seen the Lord” (v. 18).
Later the same day, Jesus joins the disciples, gathered behind locked doors. He shows them that he is the one who was crucified (v. 20). Jesus confers on “the disciples” (not including Thomas, but perhaps a group larger than the ten) “peace” (vv. 19, 21) and “the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). As God “breathed” life into Adam, the proto-human, so Jesus now breathes the new, spiritual, life of recreated humanity into his followers. Aided by the Spirit, they continue Jesus’ judicial role in the world, forgiving the sins of the faithful and holding others blameworthy (“retain”, v. 23) for their actions. Thomas is expected to believe without having seen, but he demands: show me the evidence! (v. 25) The next Sunday, the community gathers again (v. 26). Upon seeing, Thomas makes the most complete affirmation of faith of anyone in the gospel (v. 29). Henceforth the faith of all Christians in all ages will rest on the testimony of the first believers. Vv. 30-31 tell us John’s purpose in writing the book. His eyewitness account is intended to help us, who were not witnesses of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension to “come to believe” and thus “have life in his name”, eternal life.
Verses 19-23: Apart from in the longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:14-18), which a number of important manuscripts lack, and the mention of an appearance “to the twelve” (see1 Corinthians 15:5), the only parallel to this story is Luke 24:36-51, where Jesus shows himself to “the eleven and their companions”. The following contacts with the Lucan story are noted:
John Luke
v. 19 “stood among them” 24:36 “stood among them”
v. 20 “then the disciples rejoiced” 24:41 “while in their joy they were disbelieving”
v. 20 “he showed them his hands and his side” 24:39 “Look at my hands and my feet” [ BlkJn]
Verse 19: “evening”: In John’s time, Sunday was a normal day of work, so the community would meet for Eucharist during the evening. So this passage would have a special resonance for the worshipping community, as they met for their weekly commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection. When Paul visited Greece, Christians celebrated the Eucharist in the evening: see Acts 20:7-11. [ BlkJn]
Verse 19: The “disciples” may have been a larger group than the remaining eleven (less Thomas). [ JBC]
Verse 19: “the doors ... were locked”: For “fear of the Jews”; this fear is also mentioned in 7:13 and 19:38. It is not clear why at this time Jesus’ followers should fear them.
Verse 19: “Jesus came and stood among them”: For the spiritual qualities of Jesus’ resurrected body, see 1 Corinthians 15:35-56.
Verse 19: “Peace be with you”: Exchanging the peace was a usual Jewish greeting (see Judges 6:23; 19:20; Tobit 12:17) but the repetition of the words in vv. 21 and 26 suggests a reference back to 14:27 (“ ... my peace I give to you”) and 16:33 (“... in me you may have peace”). [ BlkJn]
Verse 20: “hands ... side”: Identifying marks. See also Luke 24:25-26 (Emmaus). [ NOAB]
Verse 20: “rejoiced”: This fulfils the promises of renewed joy: see 14:19 and 16:16-24. [ NJBC] This contrasts with Luke 24:37: there the stress is on terror and amazement. [ JBC]
Verse 21: “Peace”: Also a promised gift, as Jesus says in 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives ...”. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “‘so I send you’”: In 13:20, Jesus says: ‘Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me’”. See also 5:23 and 17:18. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: The commissioning of the disciples also appears in other post-resurrection appearances: see Luke 24:47-48; Matthew 28:19-20a. Jesus confers on the disciples the mission of which he has spoken: in 17:18, as he prays to the Father, Jesus says “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world”. See also 4:38 and 13:16. [ NJBC]
According to BlkJn, 7:39 says that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus’ glorification; 15:26 and 16:7 say that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus returned to the Father. The ascension has now happened.
Verse 22: “he breathed on them”: The same image is used to describe the communication of natural life in Genesis 2:7 (the second creation story). Here it is used to express the communication of the new, spiritual, life of re-created humanity. [ NOAB] In Greek, pneuma means both breath and spirit. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes into the nostrils of Adam, giving him earthly life; [ JBC] the Septuagint translation uses pneuma here. See also Ezekiel 37:9 (the valley of dry bones) and Wisdom of Solomon 15:11.
Verse 22: “‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”: In 15:26 and 16:7, Jesus says that when he has returned to the Father, he will send the Holy Spirit. In v. 17 he has told Mary Magdalene that he has not yet ascended, so in that he now gives the disciples the Holy Spirit, the ascension has now happened. So in John, Jesus’ resurrection, his ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit all happen in the same day. But to John (and other New Testament authors) chronology is of secondary importance. In common with the authors of the synoptic gospels, John insists on the connection between the resurrection and the animation of the Church by the Holy Spirit. [ JBC] Note the connection between the granting of authority and receipt of the Holy Spirit. See 16:7 for the continuation of Jesus’ ministry by the Holy Spirit.
In 7:39 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will only be given after Jesus’ glorification and in 16:7 he says that he will send the Holy Spirit after he has returned to the Father; however here Jesus appears to grant the Holy Spirit before he has been exalted. Scholars have puzzled over this for centuries. The most likely explanation is that early Christians were less concerned with chronological sequence than we are – they saw Jesus’ resurrection, he appearances, his exaltation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as one event. Only later did they begin to be described as separate events. As support for this apparent lack of chronological sense, note that while Luke describes the Ascension as occurring at Pentecost in Acts 1:3-10, he describes Jesus’ decisive parting from the world on Easter Day in Luke 24:51.
Verse 23: Through the Holy Spirit, the Church continues the judicial role of Christ (see 3:19; 5:27; 9:39) in the matter of sin (see Matthew 16:19; 18:18; Luke 24:47). (In Matthew 16:19, “bind” and “loose” are technical rabbinic terms: “bind” means forbid; “loose” means permit.) [ JBC]
Verse 23: “forgive ... retain”: BlkJn notes that these expressions are not used elsewhere in John and not at all in the Matthean parallels (Matthew 18:18; 16:19). He notes that Matthew 16:19 (“whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven ...”) recalls Isaiah 22:22, so he suggests that both this verse in John and the parallels in Matthew may be variants of a common original. This original, which might well have been in Aramaic, may have followed Isaiah in speaking of the conferral of authority as opening and shutting. In this case, John and Matthew provide different interpretations of what Jesus said, with John’s version arising out of the ambiguity in the Aramaic words, for there the word to shut also means to seize or to hold. Given hold for shut, loose ( release, set free) for open follows naturally. In support of this hypothesis, BlkJn notes that the Greek verb translated retain is not used here in any of its normal senses, so it may be a Semitism.
Verse 24: In the synoptic gospels, incredulity is shared by the other disciples. [ JBC]
Verse 25: This verse reminds us of 4:48: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Verse 25: “nails”: Criminals were usually tied to the cross, rather than being nailed through the palms of the hands.
Verse 25: “nails”: The usual custom was to tie the criminal to the cross, but Jesus was nailed to it.
Verse 27: Jesus’ invitation to Thomas contrasts with his prohibition to Mary Magdalene in v. 17. [ JBC]
Verse 28: We are not told whether Thomas actually touched Jesus. Before Jesus’ ascension, he forbade Mary Magdalen to touch him. [ JBC]
Verse 28: Thomas’ words became a common confession of faith in the early Church. [ JBC]
Verse 28: “Lord and ... God”: In the Septuagint translation, theos kyrios translates the name of the God of Israel (Hebrew: Yahweh Elohim). theos kyrios was also a name used as a designation of a god in the Hellenic world. It became a common Christian confession of faith. [ JBC]
Verse 29: 1 Peter 1:8-9 tells readers: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls”. [ CAB]
Verse 30: “signs”: John tells us of six signs in chapters 2-12. The seventh is Jesus’ resurrection. [ NJBC]
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Saturday, April 4, 2015
29 John Keble, Priest, 1866
30 Innocent of Alaska, Bishop, 1879
31 John Donne, Priest, 1631 was an English poet and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets.
April
1 Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, 1872
2 James Lloyd Breck, Priest, 1876
3 Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253
4 Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Leader, 1968
5 Pandita Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness and Evangelist in India, 1922
John 12: 12 - 16 (alt. for all)
John 12:12 (NRSV) The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--
the King of Israel!"
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15 "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!"
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 19 - 29 (RCL)
(1 - 2), 19 - 24 (C of E)
Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
118 Confitemini Domino (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
Lord, send us now success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.
28 "You are my God, and I will thank you; *
you are my God, and I will exalt you."
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
GOSPEL: Mark 11: 1 - 11 (all)
Mark 11:1 (NRSV) When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Beth'phage and Beth'any, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?' just say this, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Beth'any with the twelve.
It is “two days” before the combined festivals of Passover (commemorating the time in Egypt when the plague which killed firstborn boys passed over, skipped, Jewish homes) and that of Unleavened Bread (remembering the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt.) Many pilgrims have come to Jerusalem for the celebrations. Some of the religious authorities (“the chief priests and the scribes”) have been plotting for some time to kill Jesus: see 11:18 and 12:12. Having him killed during the “festival” ( 14:2) might cause a popular uprising (“riot”). Their intention was probably to wait until the pilgrims had left the city.
Jesus is visiting Simon “the leper” ( 14:3) – a person who is ritually unclean. His house is in “Bethany”, a village south-east of Jerusalem, on the edge of the Mount of Olives. While there, an unknown woman brings an “alabaster jar of ... nard”, a perfume flask containing an ointment made from a rare Indian plant (and imported from there.) In pouring it over Jesus’ head, she (in effect) anoints him as kings were anointed (see 2 Kings 9:6, where Elisha anoints Jehu as king) – but this may be fulfilment of Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil ...” She perceives that he is the Messiah (meaning anointed one); she sees what the religious authorities and some of those present at the meal ( 14:4-5) fail to understand; unlike them, she has spiritual insight. (“Three hundred denarii”, 14:5, was a year’s wage for a labourer, if he had steady employment; to possess something of such value, she was probably not poor.)
Jesus answers her critics in five ways: (a) she has done “good service” ( 14:6, literally: a beautiful deed) for him; (b) the opportunity to be with him in his humanity will soon end; (c) poverty will always exist in the world – the poor can always be helped; (d) she has, in the way she is able, done what she can for him; and (e) she has anointed his body for burial (while he is still alive). (The custom was to anoint a person when he had died, but there was no time to anoint Jesus’ body: see my comments on 15:42-47 below.) The story of her action will be proclaimed as part of the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.
There is a huge contrast between the woman and “Judas Iscariot” ( 14:10): his infidelity and betrayal are especially horrifying since he is “one of the twelve”. His offer to betray Jesus makes possible a change in the religious leaders’ plans: killing him before the festival is now possible. In 14:12a, Mark may be speaking of the Roman “day” rather than the Jewish. (The Roman day started at midnight, but the Jewish at sundown.) He implies that the Last Supper was at the time of the Passover meal, but John the evangelist places it on the evening before. I agree with those scholars who say that the Supper was not a Passover meal.
In 14:13, that a man would carry a jar of water is unusual: men carried water in skins and women in terra-cotta jugs, so identifying the man would be easy. Was this meeting pre-arranged, or is it an example of Jesus’ foreknowledge? The two disciples speak of Jesus as “The Teacher” ( 14:14), so possibly the house owner is a follower of Jesus. The “room” ( 14:15) would be a guest room, furnished with rugs, cushions and perhaps a low table. 14:16 does not mention the disciples’ surprise, so it is likely that the meeting was pre-arranged.
Jesus knows in advance of Judas’ plot ( 14:18). Each disciple denies involvement to another ( 14:19). The treachery is enormous: the traitor is a member of the community, one who dips “bread into the [common] bowl” ( 14:20) with Jesus. (This verse may allude to Psalm 41:9: “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.” It is surprising that, if this is a Passover meal, the contents of the bowl are not mentioned; elsewhere, Mark is keen to show Jesus as an observant Jew.) The Old Testament does not mention the Son of Man suffering, so 14:21 is probably an imposition of the Son of Man on the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Jesus, “the Son of Man” , is willing to submit to God’s plan, but Judas will be condemned at the Last Day.
14:22-25 describe the institution of the Lord’s Supper. (The name comes from 1 Corinthians 11:20.) The meal has begun with a preliminary course (“while they were eating”, 14:22). The “loaf of bread” was likely a flat cake of leavened bread. Jews to this day bless the bread and break it, but Jesus says something special: “this is my body.” That his body is to be broken may indicate that he expects to be stoned. (Crucifixion did not necessarily involve breaking bones, while stoning did.) The traditional prayer of thanks (Greek: eucharistesas) over the cup is Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who has created the fruit of the vine.
“All of them” ( 14:23, including Judas) drink from the cup. The wine is “my blood of the covenant” ( 14:24): recall Exodus 24:8, spoken by Moses when the Sinai covenant was ratified: “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you ...” Again, “poured” points to death by stoning. The new relationship between God and humankind is “for many”, not just for those present. 14:25 speaks of the past (Jesus has shared meals with many) and of the future, when he will drink the wine “new”, afresh: it points to the heavenly banquet at the end of time, the coming of the Kingdom of God.
As they walk to the “Mount of Olives” ( 14:26), outside the east wall of the city, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7: a prediction of his death and the temporary desertion of his disciples. All deny that they will leave him: they are willing to die for him ( 14:31); Peter insists that he will remain loyal ( 14:29). Jesus predicts that Peter will “deny” ( 14:30) him three times (see 14:66-72). In 14:28, Jesus speaks of his post-resurrection appearances (cf. Matthew 26:31-35): he will lead them again. “Gethsemane” ( 14:32, meaning olive oil press) is a small garden on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus takes with him “Peter and James and John” ( 14:33), the three disciples who have seen his glory in the Transfiguration; now they see his distress and weakness. Even though he knows what is to happen to him, he is apprehensive: a thoroughly human reaction to a great impending event. He asks the three to “keep awake” ( 14:34), to remain alert, to be with him in this difficult time. In 14:35-36, he struggles (humanly) with his destiny.
In a supreme gesture of supplication to the Father, he throws himself on the ground and prays that, if it be the Father’s will, he may avoid the coming ordeal by simply dying. His prayer is a very personal one to his Father (“Abba” means Daddy): you can do anything: “remove this cup” of suffering. (Recall 10:38, where he asks James and John: “Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink?”.) But dying on the cross is in God’s plan, and Jesus is obedient to it. Finding Peter asleep, he calls him “Simon” ( 14:37), the name he had before becoming a disciple. Peter is to pray that he not be faced with a struggle between God and the devil. In 14:41-42, Jesus announces that the next step in God’s plan will now happen: “my betrayer is at hand” .
The “crowd” ( 14:43), a mob, which includes the high priest’s slave ( 14:47), has been stirred up by the religious authorities. The crowd would not know Jesus by sight, so Judas has “given them [the authorities] a sign” ( 14:44): a kiss was the traditional greeting to a teacher. Judas calls Jesus “Rabbi” ( 14:45, my master), a form of address used to honour teachers of the Law. Cutting off the slave’s “ear” ( 14:47) – or part of it, as the Greek implies – is an act of revenge for the indignity done to Jesus. Jesus points out that he is not a “bandit” ( 14:48): he is not a threat to law and order, to Roman rule.
14:49 suggests that Jesus taught in the Temple more than is recorded in the gospels. As Jesus predicted in 14:27, a quotation from Zechariah, the eleven (“all”, 14:50) flee. The “certain young man” ( 14:51), by tradition, is Mark.
In 14:53-65, Mark conflates (combines) the preliminary hearing before a committee of the “high priest” and the meeting of the whole Sanhedrin (“chief priests ... scribes”), but in 15:1 the Sanhedrin holds a “consultation”. (Luke says there were two meetings: one of the committee and one of the Sanhedrin.) Peter warms himself “at the fire” ( 14:54) or charcoal brazier in the “courtyard” of the high priests’ house. Per Deuteronomy 19:15, for a charge to be valid, at least two witnesses had to bring the same “testimony” ( 14:55); witnesses were questioned separately. Jesus’ statement in 14:57 lays him open to a charge of wizardry (“not made with hands”, 14:58), a capital offence under Leviticus 20:27. The witnesses take Jesus’ words literally; he probably meant If the Temple is destroyed, I will restore the worship of God in my resurrection .
Why would Jesus even attempt to answer conflicting witnesses? ( 14:60) (But note Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, ... yet he did not open his mouth.”) So the chief priests ask him: do you have royal pretensions? Are you God’s Son? (“Blessed One”, 14:61, and “the Power”, 14:62, are Jewish ways of referring to God.) Jesus answers: “I am” ; perhaps echoing Exodus 3:14: there God says he is to be called “I AM WHO I AM”.
Jesus asserts that he is the Son of Man insofar that he is transcendent, will be enthroned in heaven, and will judge. His glorious coming at the end of the era will be final proof of God’s victory over evil. Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy (claiming to be God), although his offence does not properly fit the definition of the crime (cursing in God’s name) in Leviticus 24:10-23. Perhaps “all of them” ( 14:64) does not include Joseph of Arimathea – see comment on 15:43. Jesus is sentenced as “deserving death” , for which the penalty should be stoning (but at the time the Sanhedrin may have lacked the power to give the death penalty). The high priest was required to tear his clothes ( 14:63) in a case of blasphemy. Some mock him ( 14:65): the Messiah was expected to be a prophet. (This verse fulfills the prophecy in 14:4-6 of today’s reading from Isaiah.)
14:66-72 present Peter’s faithlessness in contrast to Jesus’ faith. Peter denies association with Jesus three times before the cock crows, fulfilling Jesus’ prediction of 14:30. (Peter’s dialect showed him to be Galilean.)
“As soon as it was morning” ( 15:1) the Sanhedrin, the supreme court, (“chief priests ... with the elders and scribes and the whole council”) meet to decide on Jesus’ fate. They hand him over to the Roman authorities on the political charge of claiming to be king. (It appears that they did not reach a decision in the meeting(s) described in 14:53-65.) Mark implies the complicity of the Jewish authorities (“They bound Jesus ...” ). “Pilate” was Prefect of Judea, Samaria and Idumaea 26-36 AD; perhaps he says: You the King of the Jews? You don’t look like a revolutionary! Jesus’ answer amounts to: Yes, but not the way you mean it.
Mark portrays the Jewish authorities as instrumental in raising (further) charges ( 15:3); he minimizes Pilate’s guilt. Jesus does not answer these false charges ( 15:4). Pilate is “amazed” ( 15:5) because a simple peasant would protest innocence, and a revolutionary would deliver a political manifesto: Jesus does neither. (Outside the Bible, Pilate is described as cruel and obstinate; Mark shows him differently.) Pilate’s verdict is not mentioned, but it must have been treason to warrant crucifixion: Jesus’ claims sound like a threat to Caesar’s authority.
The custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover (“the festival”, 15:6) is unknown outside the Bible, but such amnesties did occur at some Roman festivals. There were several insurrections ( 15:7) during Pilate’s prefecture. Barabbas was a revolutionary and probably a murderer; it is his fate, not Jesus’, that has attracted the “crowd” ( 15:8). For Pilate, it would be politically wise to release Jesus, not Barabbas ( 15:9), but the “chief priests” ( 15:10) fear that Jesus may attract many as a religious leader, and urge reform of the Temple (see 11:17). The crowd, stirred up by the chief priests ( 15:11), demand Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate sees no guilt in Jesus ( 15:14), but he takes the politically expedient path, “wishing to satisfy the crowd” ( 15:15) and avoid a riot. He has Jesus flogged with a leather whip containing pieces of bone or metal.
Either at Herod’s palace or at the Fortress Antonia, soldiers (“the whole cohort”, 15:16) mock Jesus: they dress him in a royal cloak, put a crown on his head and salute him. (“Purple”, 15:17, was reserved for royalty, but likely the cloak was one of theirs – scarlet. The “thorns” available would not twist easily so the crown was probably radial – as on the Statute of Liberty – not round; wearing it was not torture.) They hail Jesus as they did the Emperor (Hail, Caesar), ironically proclaiming his true identity. (The significance of 15:19a is unknown.)
“Cyrene” ( 15:21) was in North Africa, near Bengazi. “Simon” was probably known to Mark and his first readers; he was either from a farm or had just visited one (“country”). The custom was for a criminal to carry the crossbar, but Jesus was already too weak to carry it himself. (Flogging was usually at the place of crucifixion.) “Golgotha” ( 15:22) is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for skull. Jesus refuses “wine mixed with myrrh” ( 15:23), a sedative. Mark’s description of the crucifixion is just three words ( 15:24).
The executioners divide the victim’s clothes among them, but this verse also fulfills Psalm 22:18. A placard was placed around the criminal’s neck, stating his crime. The words on Jesus’ “inscription” ( 15:26) are from 15:2: his claim of messiahship has been twisted into a conviction for treason. Perhaps the “two bandits” ( 15:27) are revolutionaries. Three groups mock him: (a) passers-by, who scorn him (“shaking their heads”, 15:29, a Middle Eastern gesture) and repeat the first charge made before the Sanhedrin ( 14:58), (b) the religious authorities, who say: If you are the Messiah, work a miracle: save yourself, and (c) “those ... crucified with him” ( 15:32). Crucifixion was a very cruel form of execution; death from suffocation came slowly, often after several days, and resulted from the trauma caused by flogging, thirst, hunger, exhaustion, and exposure. The victim’s arms being stretched back, breathing was difficult. While he had the strength, he periodically lifted himself with his legs to take a breath.
Mark does not explain the “darkness” ( 15:33). Jesus’ cry is the first verse of Psalm 22, in Aramaic. This psalm, as a whole, tells of a righteous sufferer who, despite his travails, comes to trust in God. Perhaps “some” ( 15:35) misunderstand Jesus’ words because they are spoken in pain, leading them to believe that “he is calling for Elijah”. (Jews expected Elijah to return at the end of the age, Malachi 4:5). The gift of “sour wine” ( 15:36, what a soldier carried) may be an act of curiosity: maybe Elijah will save him. Jesus dies suddenly, violently, probably in pain ( 15:37).
The “curtain of the temple” ( 15:38) was that before the Holy of Holies, through which only the high priest passed. Recall 1:10, the tearing open of heaven at Jesus’ baptism. In ancient cosmology, a giant pudding bowl separated earth from heaven: a barrier between God and humanity. So both the ritual and cosmological barriers are torn open – as a result of Jesus’ death; it is an act of God, symbolizing the arrival of open access of humankind to God. (See Isaiah 64:1) The words of the “centurion” ( 15:39), a member of the hated Roman army, a Gentile, may show only that he recognizes Jesus as a benefactor of humankind, but they are much more significant for us. Jesus dies in only about six hours, probably because he had been flogged severely. “Women” ( 15:40) are very much followers of Jesus, from the earliest days.
Jesus dies about 3 p.m. ( 15:34) on Friday, “the day before the sabbath” ( 15:42). Because the Jewish day begins at sundown, and no work can be done on the Sabbath, there are only a few hours in which to bury his body. Deuteronomy 21:22 stipulates that the corpse of one convicted of a capital crime must be buried on the day of his death, so it is important that an effort be made to bury Jesus before sundown. So “Joseph of Arimathea” ( 15:43), “a respected member of the council”, a sanhedrin (but possibly not of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin), and a pious Jew or a follower of Jesus (“waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God”), immediately asks the Roman authorities to release Jesus’ body.
Pilate naturally wonders whether Jesus is dead yet, for death usually came only after many hours or even days, but after checking with “the centurion” ( 15:44), he pronounces Jesus dead, and releases his body. Some burial shrouds were elaborate, but Jesus’ is a simple “linen cloth” ( 15:46). Joseph lays the body in a tomb (a cave-like structure) presumably intended for himself. He rolls a disk-shaped rock “against the door” ; “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses” ( 15:47) witness this action. (A body was normally washed and then anointed with oil before burial, but in Jesus’ case, there was no time to do this. It was the custom to leave a body to decompose for about a year, and then transfer the bones to an ossuary, a bone-box.)
4:2: “Not during the festival”: Did the priests hope to arrest Jesus before or after the feast? The latter seems more likely. Judas's willingness to betray Jesus led them to execute him during the feast (according to Mark) or before it (as seems more likely on the historical level). [ NJBC]
14:3-9: The spiritual insight and generosity of the woman are contrasted with the spiritual blindness of the high priests and scribes ( 14:1-2) and Judas ( 14:10-11). [ NJBC]
14:3: “at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper”: So unusual is such precision about places and names in Mark that the details must have been part of the original story. [ NJBC]
14:3: “Simon the leper”: His identity is unknown. [ NOAB]
14:3: “poured the ointment on his head”: See also Luke 7:38 and John 12:3, where the woman anoints the feet of Jesus. [ NJBC]
14:6: “good service”: i.e. what is good and fitting under the circumstances of impending death. The same Greek words are translated as “good works” in 5:16. [ NOAB]
14:7: Deuteronomy 15:11 says “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’” [ NOAB]
14:7: “you will not always have me”: The saying explains Jesus' tolerant attitude of 14:6 and his description of the woman's act as a good deed. It is a christological saying like the bridegroom saying in 2:19, not a social commentary. [ NJBC]
14:8: John 19:40 tells us: “They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [ NOAB]
14:11: “they ... promised to give him money”: The other evangelists make Judas's motives explicit: greed (Matthew 26:15), Satan (Luke 22:3), and Satan plus a habit of stealing (John 13:2; 12:6). [ NJBC]
14:12-16: These verses identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal in the strict sense that it took place on the 15th of Nisan; the other synoptic gospels follow Mark's chronology. John 19:14, however, places Jesus' death on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan and thus makes the Last Supper a pre-Passover meal. John's chronology is more likely correct, since it is dubious that the chief priests and scribes would have acted as they did on the first day of Passover. The effect of Mark's making the Last Supper a Passover meal was to draw Jesus' death more closely into the great Passover themes of sacrifice and liberation. [ NJBC]
14:12: “Unleavened Bread”: The spring agricultural festival of Unleavened Bread had been combined with the celebration of ancient Israel's release from bondage in Egypt (see Exodus 12:15-20; 34:18-20). It began on the 15th of Nisan (March-April) and lasted for eight days. The sacrifice took place on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan before the first day began at sunset. Thus the disciples were sent out to make preparations for the Passover meal celebrated at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. [ NJBC]
14:12: The institution of the Passover is detailed in Exodus 12:1-13. It was celebrated in homes. [ CAB]
14:13: “a man carrying a jar of water”: Is this an example of Jesus' extraordinary foreknowledge, or was it the result of prearrangement? See 11:1-6 (the colt) for a similar problem. [ NJBC]
14:13: “two of his disciples”: According to Luke 22:8, they are Peter and John. [ NOAB]
14:14: “guest room”: It was on the second floor, probably served by steps outside. In Luke 22:12, Jesus tells Peter and John: “‘He [the owner of the house] will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there’” . [ NOAB]
14:16: The disciples’ lack of amazement is an indication of prearrangement between Jesus and the man carrying the jar of water. [ NJBC]
14:17-21: The first incident in the Last Supper account stresses Jesus' foreknowledge regarding Judas's plot to betray him and Jesus' willing submission to God's will in his suffering and death. [ NJBC]
14:17: “When it was evening, he came with the twelve”: In the light of 14:12-16, it is the beginning of the 15th of Nisan (since Jewish days were reckoned to begin at sunset). The two disciples are already at the appointed site according to 14:12-16, but here they are in the party coming to it. [ NJBC]
14:18: In John 13:18, Jesus tells Peter: “I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me’”. The prediction shows that Judas's betrayal does not catch Jesus by surprise. [ NJBC]
14:19: The Greek shows that the question is so worded as to imply that the answer would be negative. [ NOAB]
14:21: “the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”: Although fulfilment of the Old Testament is a major theme in the passion story in Mark, there is no Old Testament passage that speaks of the sufferings of the Son of Man. [ NJBC]
14:21: “woe to that one ...”: Just because God's plan is at work in Jesus' death, it does not mean that Judas has no responsibility. [ NJBC]
14:22-25: The re-enactment of the Last Supper in the subsequent life of the Church recalls the past event, celebrates the present communion of God’s people, and looks forward to the liberation and reunion of Christians with Jesus in the ‘kingdom of God”. [ CAB] The bread and wine are interpretations in the light of Old Testament sacrificial traditions (see Exodus 24:8 and Isaiah 53:12) and the hope for the messianic banquet in God's kingdom. The disciples are invited to share in Jesus' sacrificial death. Exodus 24:8 says: “Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’”. Isaiah 53:11-12 foretells: “... The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors”.
14:22: “this is my body”: Translations. such as represents or symbolizes fail to do justice to the realism of the words. [ NJBC]
14:23: “he took a cup”: At a Passover meal the bread would be shared toward the beginning and the cup (actually three cups) in the course of it. Here the cup follows after the bread (as in the accounts of Paul and of Luke), which suggests that it was not an official Passover meal. [ NJBC] In 1 Corinthians 11:25, Paul states what he has received from the Lord about the Last Supper and had handed on to the Corinthian church: “In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’”. See also Luke 22:20.
14:24: “my blood of the covenant”: This is an allusion to Exodus 24:8, quoted above. [ NJBC]
14:24: “for many”: An allusion to Isaiah 53:12 (one of the Servant Songs) and gives the action a sacrificial dimension. [ NJBC]
14:24: See also Hebrews 9:20; Matthew 20:28; Mark 1:4; Exodus 24:6-8. In the background of Jesus’ words are several important ideas in Judaism:
one’s sins lead to death;
God has rescued his people, as from Egypt, and may be trusted to deliver from death itself;
in mercy God forgives those who obey him;
God will make a new covenant: see Jeremiah 31:31-34. [ NOAB]
Jesus speaks of his blood as being the mediating reality in a new relationship between God and humankind. In 10:45, Jesus speaks of “his life [as] a ransom for many”. A “ransom” is given to gain release. There Jesus speaks of his life and death as achieving freedom for “many”, i.e. with no specified limit to a few, but does not spell out details. See also Luke 4:18; 13:29; 1 Timothy 2:5-6. [ NOAB]
14:25: “until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God”: This places the Last Supper in the context of the messianic banquet (see 6:35-44, the feeding of the five thousand, and 8:1-10, the feeding of the four thousand). Rather than seeing the Last Supper (and the Eucharist) as an isolated event, it is important to connect it with Jesus' earlier meals with tax collectors and sinners (see 2:16) and to the future eschatological banquet. [ NJBC]
14:26: A Passover meal ended with the singing of Psalms 115-118, the second part of the Hallelujah psalms. [ NOAB]
14:26: “they went out”: John 18:1-2 tells us : “After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples”. [ NOAB]
14:27: In John 16:32, Jesus tells his disciples: “‘The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me’”. [ NOAB]
14:27: “I will strike the shepherd”: Jesus is identified as a shepherd in 6:34. The quotation is Zechariah 13:7 – a prediction of both Jesus’ death and the flight of the disciples. [ NJBC]
14:28: This verse points forward to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. The “ young man” (see 16:5) at the tomb on Easter Day tells the two Marys and Salome “‘But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’” (see 16:7) [ NJBC]
14:30: See also 14:66-72; John 13:26-38; 18:17-18, 25-27. [ NOAB]
14:32: See also John 18:1, quoted above, and Hebrews 5:7-8. [ NOAB]
14:32-52: What sustains Jesus is his unique relationship to God and his conviction that God's will revealed in the Scriptures is being fulfilled. [ NJBC]
14:32-42: Only Mark reports Jesus’ prayer that he might escape the period (“hour”) of agony through which he is soon to pass, and his addressing God as “Abba”. [ CAB] Mark’s version of the agony in the garden presents Jesus as the obedient Son of God who struggles to accept God's will in his passion. It portrays the disciples as hopelessly unaware of what is going on, thus as an example to be avoided. [ NJBC]
14:33: “began to be distressed and agitated”: The text expresses his deep emotional plight in the face of his impending death. This emphasis does not necessarily contradict the stress on Jesus' foreknowledge and acceptance of God's will in the preceding passages, since one can be terrified of what awaits one, that is, one’s fate (e.g. as a cancer patient does). [ NJBC]
14:34: In John 12:27, Jesus says: “‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour’’”. [ NOAB]
14:34: “I am deeply grieved, even to death”: NJBC offers my soul is sorrowful, even unto death. In speaking to the three disciples, Jesus uses the language of Psalm 42:6, 12. [ NJBC]
14:35-36: Jesus would not accept for himself the possibility of anything contrary to God’s will. [ NOAB]
14:36ff: This prayer bears some resemblance to the Lord’s Prayer. See Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. [ NJBC]
14:36: “Abba”: In Romans 8:15-16, Paul writes: “... When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. See also Galatians 4:6. This word passed into the prayer life of the early Church. [ NOAB]
14:36: “cup”: A metaphor for that which is allotted by God, whether blessing (see Psalms 16:5; 116:13) or judgement (see Isaiah 51:17 and Lamentations 4:21). It here refers to Jesus’ suffering and death. See also Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:38. [ NOAB]
14:36: “not what I want, but what you want”: Jesus had to discipline himself to accept his sufferings. Recall the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. [ NJBC]
14:41: The three passion predictions (see 8:3 1; 9:3 1; 10:33-34) are being fulfilled. [ NJBC]
14:43: “Judas”: The synoptic gospels do not report his movements on this night. John 13:30 says “after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night” and John 18:3 “Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there [i.e. to the garden across the Kidron valley] with lanterns and torches and weapons”. [ NOAB]
14:43: “a crowd”: The arrest is carried out by a kind of mob, rather than by the Temple police (as stated in Luke 22:52) or the Roman soldiers (John 18:3,12 says). [ NJBC]
14:47: “one ... who stood near”: According to John 18:10, it was Peter. [ NOAB] Luke 22:50-51 tells us that Jesus healed the man's ear. The Greek suggests that only part of the ear was cut off. [ NJBC]
14:49: Luke 19:47 tells us: “Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard”. and John 18:19-21 tells us Jesus’ answer to the high priest: “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret” . [ NOAB]
14:49: “Day after day”: Mark has told us that Jesus had only been in Jerusalem for three days , so that Jesus had been teaching “day after day” in the Temple looks odd. [ NJBC]
14:49: “let the scriptures be fulfilled”: Apparently a reference to 14:27 (where Zechariah 13:7 is quoted), though it may be meant in a more general sense, as in 14:21 (“the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”). [ NJBC]
14:51: “A certain young man”: His identity is not disclosed. Perhaps he was sleeping in the house where Jesus ate the Last Supper and rose hastily from bed to follow Jesus to Gethsemane. If the house was that of Mary, the mother of John and Mark (where the disciples met at a later date: see Acts 12:12), it is possible that the “young man” was the Evangelist himself. [ NOAB] Only Mark mentions him. [ CAB] The identity of the young disciple who flees away naked has attracted many guesses through the centuries. [ NJBC]
14:53-15:15: Throughout the trials, Jesus the innocent sufferer remains almost entirely silent: see Isaiah 53:7. [ NJBC]
14:53-65: Mark presents the hearing at the high priest's house on the first evening of Passover as a full-scale trial (though there are serious historical problems connected with this portrayal). Could the whole Sanhedrin meet there (see 14:64)? Would they have met there on the first night of Passover? These problems suggest that Jesus underwent a preliminary hearing at the house of the high priest on the evening before the first evening of Passover (see 14:12-16). The preliminary hearing was conducted by a small group or committee of Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]
14:55: The Law required at least two witnesses who gave the same testimony. See Numbers 35:30 and Deuteronomy 19:15. Jesus endorses this law in Matthew 18:16. [ NOAB]
14:55: “the chief priests and the whole council”: Mark presents the hearing as a full-scale trial before the whole Sanhedrin. This tendency was probably part of the general Christian effort to play down Roman involvement and to play up Jewish involvement in Jesus' death. [ NJBC] Was this because Christians needed to live in a degree of harmony with the civil authorities?
14:58: “‘I will destroy this temple”: Jesus may have contrasted Temple worship in the present with the kind of worship that will prevail when God's kingdom comes. The “I” may have been God, or perhaps even Jesus speaking in God's name. The saying probably had some relation to the cleansing of the Temple (see 11:15-19). Later New Testament writers tended to spiritualise it (see Matthew 26:61; John 2:21; Acts 6:14) in the light of the fact that the Romans rather than Jesus destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70. [ NJBC]
14:61: “‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One”: Peter has identified Jesus as the “Messiah” in 8:29; a voice from heaven has identified Jesus as “my Son, the Beloved” in 1:11 (at his baptism) and 9:7 (his transfiguration). [ NJBC]
14:62: According to NOAB, this is Daniel 7:13 combined with the thought of Psalm 110:1.
14:63: “tore his clothes”: An action expressing grief. See also Acts 14:14 (Paul and Barnabas lament that they are taken for Greek gods) and Joel 2:12-13 (“... rend your hearts and not your clothing ...”). [ NOAB]
14:64: “All of them condemned him as deserving death”: Jesus was probably viewed as a Jewish political-religious agitator (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 17.10.4-88 269-85; 18.4.1 85-87; 20.8.6 167-72) who threatened the power of both the Romans and the Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]
14:64: “All of them”: But according to Luke 23:51 Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, had not assented. [ NOAB]
14:65: “‘Prophesy!’”: This request carries the irony that the treatment fulfills the Old Testament prophecies found in Servant Songs (see Isaiah 50:4-6; 53:3-5). It may also allude to popular perceptions about Jesus as a prophet (see Mark 6:15; 8:28). [ NJBC]
14:66-72: Note the progression in the audiences for Peter's denials: a “servant girl” ( 14:66), the “servant-girl” plus some “bystanders” ( 14:69), and “the bystanders” ( 14:70). [ NJBC]
Comments: Peter’s dialect shows him to be Galilean: On the Day of Pentecost, the crowd asks: “‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans’” (Acts 2:7).
14:66: See also 14:30. [ NOAB]
14:71: “curse”: Peter not only denies his participation in the movement, but confirms by a “curse” his lack of links with Jesus. [ CAB]
14:72: “the cock crowed for the second time”: i.e. before dawn. In 13:35, Jesus warns: “Therefore, keep awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn ...” [ NOAB]
14:72: “he broke down”: The meaning of the Greek is uncertain. [ NOAB]
15:1-5: To CAB, the sanhedrin is a regional one, not the national one.
15:1: “As soon as it was morning”: Jewish law required that the Sanhedrin take formal action by daylight. See also Luke 23:1 and John 18:28-32. [ NOAB] This verse seems to assume the occurrence of a second official meeting of the Sanhedrin in the morning (see also Matthew 26:66; 27:1). [ NJBC]
15:2: “Pilate”: Pilate's headquarters were at Caesarea Maritima; he came to Jerusalem to oversee the Passover pilgrimage, lest trouble break out. [ NJBC]
15:2: “‘Are you the King of the Jews?’”: Pilate's question is a political translation of the titles Messiah and Son of God. It shows that the strategy against Jesus was to connect him with political-messianic movements of the time and to condemn him as a revolutionary. [ NJBC]
15:3: “the chief priests accused him of many things”: Their repeated accusations contrast with the silence of Jesus See also Isaiah 53:7 and Psalm 38:13-15. [ NJBC]
15:6: “he used to release a prisoner for them”: Perhaps the occasional practice of amnesty has been made into a custom by the evangelists or their sources. [ NJBC]
15:7: “Barabbas”: The name is a transliteration of the Aramaic bar ‘abba’, son of the father. [ NJBC]
15:7: “insurrection”: We have no record of this particular insurrection. The crime was more serious than that of brigandage. See also 15:27. John 18:40 tells us “... Barabbas was a bandit”. [ NOAB]
15:11: See also Acts 3:14 (Peter’s statement to the sanhedrin). [ NOAB]
15:13: “Crucify him!”: Mark tells us that Pilate had Jesus crucified not because he was guilty but because the high priests through the crowd put pressure on him (“wishing to satisfy the crowd” according to 15:15) [ NJBC]
15:13: Deuteronomy 21:23 states that a religious curse is implicit in crucifixion. [ NOAB]
15:15: “after flogging Jesus”: The victim was bound to a pillar. [ NJBC]
15:16-47: Jesus is put to death as king of the Jews in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, without playing down the implacable hatred displayed by his adversaries: see 14:21. [ NJBC]
15:16: “the whole cohort”: At full strength, about 500 men. [ NOAB] These men were natives of Palestine and Syria, recruited by the Romans. [ NJBC]
15:21: “Simon of Cyrene”: It is not stated whether he was in Jerusalem as a pilgrim or as a permanent resident [ NJBC] “Cyrene” was the capital city of the north African district of Cyrenaica. The city had a large Jewish community. [ NOAB]
15:21: “Alexander and Rufus”: Probably also known to the Christians who first read Mark. A connection with the “Rufus” Paul greets in Romans 16:13 is possible but has not been established. [ NOAB]
15:22: “Golgotha”: In Jesus' time this place was outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The traditional name Calvary comes from the Latin word for skull, calvaria. [ NJBC]
15:23: “wine mixed with myrrh”: On the basis of Proverbs 31:6-7, the phrase is usually interpreted as a narcotic to ease the pain of the dying person. [ NJBC]
15:25: “nine o'clock in the morning”: Mark’s chronology and John’s differ: according to John 19:14, Jesus was crucified “about noon”. [ NJBC]
15:29: See also 13:2; 14:58; John 2:19. [ NOAB] The claim that Jesus promised to rebuild the Temple in three days distorts his prediction that he will rise from the dead after three days. The accusers confuse his identity with the fate of the Temple. [ CAB]
15:31: The quotation is Psalm 22:7-8. [ NOAB] The “chief priests” and “scribes” echo the charge in 14:61 that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. [ NJBC]
15:32: While here in Mark “those ... crucified” with Jesus “also taunt him, in Luke 23:39-43 one of the criminals acknowledges Jesus’ innocence and asks to be remembered when he comes into his kingdom. [ NJBC]
15:33-39: Jesus' death took place according to God's will made known in the Old Testament. [ NJBC]
15:33: “darkness came over the whole land”: The “land” is most likely Judea. The darkness has been variously interpreted as a sandstorm, an eclipse of the sun (see Luke 23:45, “while the sun's light failed”), or the fulfilment of Amos 8:9: “On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight”. [ NJBC]
15:34: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice”: After a loud cry, Jesus expelled his breath, which implies a voluntary action.
15:35: “he is calling for Elijah”: For Elijah as forerunner of the kingdom, see Mark 1:6; 9:11-13. [ NJBC]
15:36: Psalm 69:21 says “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”. The motive in offering the “sour wine” may have been to revive Jesus, thus prolonging the ordeal. [ NOAB]
15:38: The “curtain” closed off the holy place from the Holy of Holies (see Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 9:3), the sanctuary which represented God’s presence with his people. See also 2 Kings 19:14-15; 2 Chronicles 6:1-2, 18-21; Hebrews 10:19-20. [ NOAB] The rending of the “curtain” at Jesus' death suggests the end of the old covenant with Israel. [ NJBC]
15:39: “‘Truly this man was God's Son!’”: The centurion's confession echoes the opening words of the Gospel: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. [ NJBC]
15:40: “Mary Magdalene”: She saw Jesus die, knew where he was buried ( 15:47), and went to the tomb on Easter Day ( 16:1).
15:40: “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”: To CAB, “James the younger” may be James the son of Alpheus (see 3:18 and Acts 1:13) and “Joses” one of Jesus’ (half-) brothers (see 6:3; “Joseph” in Matthew 13:55). “Salome”, mentioned again in 16:1, is not mentioned in Matthew’s account. [ NJBC] To NJBC, “Mary” is not the mother of Jesus.
15:41: Luke 8:1-3 tells us that women travelled with Jesus and his disciples. Some of the women provided financial support; some had been cured by Jesus. [ NOAB]
15:42: i.e. late afternoon on Friday. [ NOAB] The Sabbath would begin at sunset.
15:46: Acts 13:29 tells us that as Paul tells those attending the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia about Jesus he says: “When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb”. [ NOAB]
15:46: “laid it in a tomb ...”: The area around Jerusalem in Jesus' time has been described as a gigantic cemetery. [ NJBC]
30 Innocent of Alaska, Bishop, 1879
31 John Donne, Priest, 1631 was an English poet and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets.
April
1 Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, 1872
2 James Lloyd Breck, Priest, 1876
3 Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253
4 Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Leader, 1968
5 Pandita Mary Ramabai, Prophetic Witness and Evangelist in India, 1922
John 12: 12 - 16 (alt. for all)
John 12:12 (NRSV) The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--
the King of Israel!"
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15 "Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!"
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 19 - 29 (RCL)
(1 - 2), 19 - 24 (C of E)
Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
118 Confitemini Domino (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
Lord, send us now success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.
28 "You are my God, and I will thank you; *
you are my God, and I will exalt you."
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
GOSPEL: Mark 11: 1 - 11 (all)
Mark 11:1 (NRSV) When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Beth'phage and Beth'any, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?' just say this, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Beth'any with the twelve.
It is “two days” before the combined festivals of Passover (commemorating the time in Egypt when the plague which killed firstborn boys passed over, skipped, Jewish homes) and that of Unleavened Bread (remembering the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt.) Many pilgrims have come to Jerusalem for the celebrations. Some of the religious authorities (“the chief priests and the scribes”) have been plotting for some time to kill Jesus: see 11:18 and 12:12. Having him killed during the “festival” ( 14:2) might cause a popular uprising (“riot”). Their intention was probably to wait until the pilgrims had left the city.
Jesus is visiting Simon “the leper” ( 14:3) – a person who is ritually unclean. His house is in “Bethany”, a village south-east of Jerusalem, on the edge of the Mount of Olives. While there, an unknown woman brings an “alabaster jar of ... nard”, a perfume flask containing an ointment made from a rare Indian plant (and imported from there.) In pouring it over Jesus’ head, she (in effect) anoints him as kings were anointed (see 2 Kings 9:6, where Elisha anoints Jehu as king) – but this may be fulfilment of Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil ...” She perceives that he is the Messiah (meaning anointed one); she sees what the religious authorities and some of those present at the meal ( 14:4-5) fail to understand; unlike them, she has spiritual insight. (“Three hundred denarii”, 14:5, was a year’s wage for a labourer, if he had steady employment; to possess something of such value, she was probably not poor.)
Jesus answers her critics in five ways: (a) she has done “good service” ( 14:6, literally: a beautiful deed) for him; (b) the opportunity to be with him in his humanity will soon end; (c) poverty will always exist in the world – the poor can always be helped; (d) she has, in the way she is able, done what she can for him; and (e) she has anointed his body for burial (while he is still alive). (The custom was to anoint a person when he had died, but there was no time to anoint Jesus’ body: see my comments on 15:42-47 below.) The story of her action will be proclaimed as part of the story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.
There is a huge contrast between the woman and “Judas Iscariot” ( 14:10): his infidelity and betrayal are especially horrifying since he is “one of the twelve”. His offer to betray Jesus makes possible a change in the religious leaders’ plans: killing him before the festival is now possible. In 14:12a, Mark may be speaking of the Roman “day” rather than the Jewish. (The Roman day started at midnight, but the Jewish at sundown.) He implies that the Last Supper was at the time of the Passover meal, but John the evangelist places it on the evening before. I agree with those scholars who say that the Supper was not a Passover meal.
In 14:13, that a man would carry a jar of water is unusual: men carried water in skins and women in terra-cotta jugs, so identifying the man would be easy. Was this meeting pre-arranged, or is it an example of Jesus’ foreknowledge? The two disciples speak of Jesus as “The Teacher” ( 14:14), so possibly the house owner is a follower of Jesus. The “room” ( 14:15) would be a guest room, furnished with rugs, cushions and perhaps a low table. 14:16 does not mention the disciples’ surprise, so it is likely that the meeting was pre-arranged.
Jesus knows in advance of Judas’ plot ( 14:18). Each disciple denies involvement to another ( 14:19). The treachery is enormous: the traitor is a member of the community, one who dips “bread into the [common] bowl” ( 14:20) with Jesus. (This verse may allude to Psalm 41:9: “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.” It is surprising that, if this is a Passover meal, the contents of the bowl are not mentioned; elsewhere, Mark is keen to show Jesus as an observant Jew.) The Old Testament does not mention the Son of Man suffering, so 14:21 is probably an imposition of the Son of Man on the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Jesus, “the Son of Man” , is willing to submit to God’s plan, but Judas will be condemned at the Last Day.
14:22-25 describe the institution of the Lord’s Supper. (The name comes from 1 Corinthians 11:20.) The meal has begun with a preliminary course (“while they were eating”, 14:22). The “loaf of bread” was likely a flat cake of leavened bread. Jews to this day bless the bread and break it, but Jesus says something special: “this is my body.” That his body is to be broken may indicate that he expects to be stoned. (Crucifixion did not necessarily involve breaking bones, while stoning did.) The traditional prayer of thanks (Greek: eucharistesas) over the cup is Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the world, who has created the fruit of the vine.
“All of them” ( 14:23, including Judas) drink from the cup. The wine is “my blood of the covenant” ( 14:24): recall Exodus 24:8, spoken by Moses when the Sinai covenant was ratified: “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you ...” Again, “poured” points to death by stoning. The new relationship between God and humankind is “for many”, not just for those present. 14:25 speaks of the past (Jesus has shared meals with many) and of the future, when he will drink the wine “new”, afresh: it points to the heavenly banquet at the end of time, the coming of the Kingdom of God.
As they walk to the “Mount of Olives” ( 14:26), outside the east wall of the city, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7: a prediction of his death and the temporary desertion of his disciples. All deny that they will leave him: they are willing to die for him ( 14:31); Peter insists that he will remain loyal ( 14:29). Jesus predicts that Peter will “deny” ( 14:30) him three times (see 14:66-72). In 14:28, Jesus speaks of his post-resurrection appearances (cf. Matthew 26:31-35): he will lead them again. “Gethsemane” ( 14:32, meaning olive oil press) is a small garden on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus takes with him “Peter and James and John” ( 14:33), the three disciples who have seen his glory in the Transfiguration; now they see his distress and weakness. Even though he knows what is to happen to him, he is apprehensive: a thoroughly human reaction to a great impending event. He asks the three to “keep awake” ( 14:34), to remain alert, to be with him in this difficult time. In 14:35-36, he struggles (humanly) with his destiny.
In a supreme gesture of supplication to the Father, he throws himself on the ground and prays that, if it be the Father’s will, he may avoid the coming ordeal by simply dying. His prayer is a very personal one to his Father (“Abba” means Daddy): you can do anything: “remove this cup” of suffering. (Recall 10:38, where he asks James and John: “Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink?”.) But dying on the cross is in God’s plan, and Jesus is obedient to it. Finding Peter asleep, he calls him “Simon” ( 14:37), the name he had before becoming a disciple. Peter is to pray that he not be faced with a struggle between God and the devil. In 14:41-42, Jesus announces that the next step in God’s plan will now happen: “my betrayer is at hand” .
The “crowd” ( 14:43), a mob, which includes the high priest’s slave ( 14:47), has been stirred up by the religious authorities. The crowd would not know Jesus by sight, so Judas has “given them [the authorities] a sign” ( 14:44): a kiss was the traditional greeting to a teacher. Judas calls Jesus “Rabbi” ( 14:45, my master), a form of address used to honour teachers of the Law. Cutting off the slave’s “ear” ( 14:47) – or part of it, as the Greek implies – is an act of revenge for the indignity done to Jesus. Jesus points out that he is not a “bandit” ( 14:48): he is not a threat to law and order, to Roman rule.
14:49 suggests that Jesus taught in the Temple more than is recorded in the gospels. As Jesus predicted in 14:27, a quotation from Zechariah, the eleven (“all”, 14:50) flee. The “certain young man” ( 14:51), by tradition, is Mark.
In 14:53-65, Mark conflates (combines) the preliminary hearing before a committee of the “high priest” and the meeting of the whole Sanhedrin (“chief priests ... scribes”), but in 15:1 the Sanhedrin holds a “consultation”. (Luke says there were two meetings: one of the committee and one of the Sanhedrin.) Peter warms himself “at the fire” ( 14:54) or charcoal brazier in the “courtyard” of the high priests’ house. Per Deuteronomy 19:15, for a charge to be valid, at least two witnesses had to bring the same “testimony” ( 14:55); witnesses were questioned separately. Jesus’ statement in 14:57 lays him open to a charge of wizardry (“not made with hands”, 14:58), a capital offence under Leviticus 20:27. The witnesses take Jesus’ words literally; he probably meant If the Temple is destroyed, I will restore the worship of God in my resurrection .
Why would Jesus even attempt to answer conflicting witnesses? ( 14:60) (But note Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, ... yet he did not open his mouth.”) So the chief priests ask him: do you have royal pretensions? Are you God’s Son? (“Blessed One”, 14:61, and “the Power”, 14:62, are Jewish ways of referring to God.) Jesus answers: “I am” ; perhaps echoing Exodus 3:14: there God says he is to be called “I AM WHO I AM”.
Jesus asserts that he is the Son of Man insofar that he is transcendent, will be enthroned in heaven, and will judge. His glorious coming at the end of the era will be final proof of God’s victory over evil. Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy (claiming to be God), although his offence does not properly fit the definition of the crime (cursing in God’s name) in Leviticus 24:10-23. Perhaps “all of them” ( 14:64) does not include Joseph of Arimathea – see comment on 15:43. Jesus is sentenced as “deserving death” , for which the penalty should be stoning (but at the time the Sanhedrin may have lacked the power to give the death penalty). The high priest was required to tear his clothes ( 14:63) in a case of blasphemy. Some mock him ( 14:65): the Messiah was expected to be a prophet. (This verse fulfills the prophecy in 14:4-6 of today’s reading from Isaiah.)
14:66-72 present Peter’s faithlessness in contrast to Jesus’ faith. Peter denies association with Jesus three times before the cock crows, fulfilling Jesus’ prediction of 14:30. (Peter’s dialect showed him to be Galilean.)
“As soon as it was morning” ( 15:1) the Sanhedrin, the supreme court, (“chief priests ... with the elders and scribes and the whole council”) meet to decide on Jesus’ fate. They hand him over to the Roman authorities on the political charge of claiming to be king. (It appears that they did not reach a decision in the meeting(s) described in 14:53-65.) Mark implies the complicity of the Jewish authorities (“They bound Jesus ...” ). “Pilate” was Prefect of Judea, Samaria and Idumaea 26-36 AD; perhaps he says: You the King of the Jews? You don’t look like a revolutionary! Jesus’ answer amounts to: Yes, but not the way you mean it.
Mark portrays the Jewish authorities as instrumental in raising (further) charges ( 15:3); he minimizes Pilate’s guilt. Jesus does not answer these false charges ( 15:4). Pilate is “amazed” ( 15:5) because a simple peasant would protest innocence, and a revolutionary would deliver a political manifesto: Jesus does neither. (Outside the Bible, Pilate is described as cruel and obstinate; Mark shows him differently.) Pilate’s verdict is not mentioned, but it must have been treason to warrant crucifixion: Jesus’ claims sound like a threat to Caesar’s authority.
The custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover (“the festival”, 15:6) is unknown outside the Bible, but such amnesties did occur at some Roman festivals. There were several insurrections ( 15:7) during Pilate’s prefecture. Barabbas was a revolutionary and probably a murderer; it is his fate, not Jesus’, that has attracted the “crowd” ( 15:8). For Pilate, it would be politically wise to release Jesus, not Barabbas ( 15:9), but the “chief priests” ( 15:10) fear that Jesus may attract many as a religious leader, and urge reform of the Temple (see 11:17). The crowd, stirred up by the chief priests ( 15:11), demand Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate sees no guilt in Jesus ( 15:14), but he takes the politically expedient path, “wishing to satisfy the crowd” ( 15:15) and avoid a riot. He has Jesus flogged with a leather whip containing pieces of bone or metal.
Either at Herod’s palace or at the Fortress Antonia, soldiers (“the whole cohort”, 15:16) mock Jesus: they dress him in a royal cloak, put a crown on his head and salute him. (“Purple”, 15:17, was reserved for royalty, but likely the cloak was one of theirs – scarlet. The “thorns” available would not twist easily so the crown was probably radial – as on the Statute of Liberty – not round; wearing it was not torture.) They hail Jesus as they did the Emperor (Hail, Caesar), ironically proclaiming his true identity. (The significance of 15:19a is unknown.)
“Cyrene” ( 15:21) was in North Africa, near Bengazi. “Simon” was probably known to Mark and his first readers; he was either from a farm or had just visited one (“country”). The custom was for a criminal to carry the crossbar, but Jesus was already too weak to carry it himself. (Flogging was usually at the place of crucifixion.) “Golgotha” ( 15:22) is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for skull. Jesus refuses “wine mixed with myrrh” ( 15:23), a sedative. Mark’s description of the crucifixion is just three words ( 15:24).
The executioners divide the victim’s clothes among them, but this verse also fulfills Psalm 22:18. A placard was placed around the criminal’s neck, stating his crime. The words on Jesus’ “inscription” ( 15:26) are from 15:2: his claim of messiahship has been twisted into a conviction for treason. Perhaps the “two bandits” ( 15:27) are revolutionaries. Three groups mock him: (a) passers-by, who scorn him (“shaking their heads”, 15:29, a Middle Eastern gesture) and repeat the first charge made before the Sanhedrin ( 14:58), (b) the religious authorities, who say: If you are the Messiah, work a miracle: save yourself, and (c) “those ... crucified with him” ( 15:32). Crucifixion was a very cruel form of execution; death from suffocation came slowly, often after several days, and resulted from the trauma caused by flogging, thirst, hunger, exhaustion, and exposure. The victim’s arms being stretched back, breathing was difficult. While he had the strength, he periodically lifted himself with his legs to take a breath.
Mark does not explain the “darkness” ( 15:33). Jesus’ cry is the first verse of Psalm 22, in Aramaic. This psalm, as a whole, tells of a righteous sufferer who, despite his travails, comes to trust in God. Perhaps “some” ( 15:35) misunderstand Jesus’ words because they are spoken in pain, leading them to believe that “he is calling for Elijah”. (Jews expected Elijah to return at the end of the age, Malachi 4:5). The gift of “sour wine” ( 15:36, what a soldier carried) may be an act of curiosity: maybe Elijah will save him. Jesus dies suddenly, violently, probably in pain ( 15:37).
The “curtain of the temple” ( 15:38) was that before the Holy of Holies, through which only the high priest passed. Recall 1:10, the tearing open of heaven at Jesus’ baptism. In ancient cosmology, a giant pudding bowl separated earth from heaven: a barrier between God and humanity. So both the ritual and cosmological barriers are torn open – as a result of Jesus’ death; it is an act of God, symbolizing the arrival of open access of humankind to God. (See Isaiah 64:1) The words of the “centurion” ( 15:39), a member of the hated Roman army, a Gentile, may show only that he recognizes Jesus as a benefactor of humankind, but they are much more significant for us. Jesus dies in only about six hours, probably because he had been flogged severely. “Women” ( 15:40) are very much followers of Jesus, from the earliest days.
Jesus dies about 3 p.m. ( 15:34) on Friday, “the day before the sabbath” ( 15:42). Because the Jewish day begins at sundown, and no work can be done on the Sabbath, there are only a few hours in which to bury his body. Deuteronomy 21:22 stipulates that the corpse of one convicted of a capital crime must be buried on the day of his death, so it is important that an effort be made to bury Jesus before sundown. So “Joseph of Arimathea” ( 15:43), “a respected member of the council”, a sanhedrin (but possibly not of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin), and a pious Jew or a follower of Jesus (“waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God”), immediately asks the Roman authorities to release Jesus’ body.
Pilate naturally wonders whether Jesus is dead yet, for death usually came only after many hours or even days, but after checking with “the centurion” ( 15:44), he pronounces Jesus dead, and releases his body. Some burial shrouds were elaborate, but Jesus’ is a simple “linen cloth” ( 15:46). Joseph lays the body in a tomb (a cave-like structure) presumably intended for himself. He rolls a disk-shaped rock “against the door” ; “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses” ( 15:47) witness this action. (A body was normally washed and then anointed with oil before burial, but in Jesus’ case, there was no time to do this. It was the custom to leave a body to decompose for about a year, and then transfer the bones to an ossuary, a bone-box.)
4:2: “Not during the festival”: Did the priests hope to arrest Jesus before or after the feast? The latter seems more likely. Judas's willingness to betray Jesus led them to execute him during the feast (according to Mark) or before it (as seems more likely on the historical level). [ NJBC]
14:3-9: The spiritual insight and generosity of the woman are contrasted with the spiritual blindness of the high priests and scribes ( 14:1-2) and Judas ( 14:10-11). [ NJBC]
14:3: “at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper”: So unusual is such precision about places and names in Mark that the details must have been part of the original story. [ NJBC]
14:3: “Simon the leper”: His identity is unknown. [ NOAB]
14:3: “poured the ointment on his head”: See also Luke 7:38 and John 12:3, where the woman anoints the feet of Jesus. [ NJBC]
14:6: “good service”: i.e. what is good and fitting under the circumstances of impending death. The same Greek words are translated as “good works” in 5:16. [ NOAB]
14:7: Deuteronomy 15:11 says “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’” [ NOAB]
14:7: “you will not always have me”: The saying explains Jesus' tolerant attitude of 14:6 and his description of the woman's act as a good deed. It is a christological saying like the bridegroom saying in 2:19, not a social commentary. [ NJBC]
14:8: John 19:40 tells us: “They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [ NOAB]
14:11: “they ... promised to give him money”: The other evangelists make Judas's motives explicit: greed (Matthew 26:15), Satan (Luke 22:3), and Satan plus a habit of stealing (John 13:2; 12:6). [ NJBC]
14:12-16: These verses identify the Last Supper as a Passover meal in the strict sense that it took place on the 15th of Nisan; the other synoptic gospels follow Mark's chronology. John 19:14, however, places Jesus' death on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan and thus makes the Last Supper a pre-Passover meal. John's chronology is more likely correct, since it is dubious that the chief priests and scribes would have acted as they did on the first day of Passover. The effect of Mark's making the Last Supper a Passover meal was to draw Jesus' death more closely into the great Passover themes of sacrifice and liberation. [ NJBC]
14:12: “Unleavened Bread”: The spring agricultural festival of Unleavened Bread had been combined with the celebration of ancient Israel's release from bondage in Egypt (see Exodus 12:15-20; 34:18-20). It began on the 15th of Nisan (March-April) and lasted for eight days. The sacrifice took place on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan before the first day began at sunset. Thus the disciples were sent out to make preparations for the Passover meal celebrated at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. [ NJBC]
14:12: The institution of the Passover is detailed in Exodus 12:1-13. It was celebrated in homes. [ CAB]
14:13: “a man carrying a jar of water”: Is this an example of Jesus' extraordinary foreknowledge, or was it the result of prearrangement? See 11:1-6 (the colt) for a similar problem. [ NJBC]
14:13: “two of his disciples”: According to Luke 22:8, they are Peter and John. [ NOAB]
14:14: “guest room”: It was on the second floor, probably served by steps outside. In Luke 22:12, Jesus tells Peter and John: “‘He [the owner of the house] will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there’” . [ NOAB]
14:16: The disciples’ lack of amazement is an indication of prearrangement between Jesus and the man carrying the jar of water. [ NJBC]
14:17-21: The first incident in the Last Supper account stresses Jesus' foreknowledge regarding Judas's plot to betray him and Jesus' willing submission to God's will in his suffering and death. [ NJBC]
14:17: “When it was evening, he came with the twelve”: In the light of 14:12-16, it is the beginning of the 15th of Nisan (since Jewish days were reckoned to begin at sunset). The two disciples are already at the appointed site according to 14:12-16, but here they are in the party coming to it. [ NJBC]
14:18: In John 13:18, Jesus tells Peter: “I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me’”. The prediction shows that Judas's betrayal does not catch Jesus by surprise. [ NJBC]
14:19: The Greek shows that the question is so worded as to imply that the answer would be negative. [ NOAB]
14:21: “the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”: Although fulfilment of the Old Testament is a major theme in the passion story in Mark, there is no Old Testament passage that speaks of the sufferings of the Son of Man. [ NJBC]
14:21: “woe to that one ...”: Just because God's plan is at work in Jesus' death, it does not mean that Judas has no responsibility. [ NJBC]
14:22-25: The re-enactment of the Last Supper in the subsequent life of the Church recalls the past event, celebrates the present communion of God’s people, and looks forward to the liberation and reunion of Christians with Jesus in the ‘kingdom of God”. [ CAB] The bread and wine are interpretations in the light of Old Testament sacrificial traditions (see Exodus 24:8 and Isaiah 53:12) and the hope for the messianic banquet in God's kingdom. The disciples are invited to share in Jesus' sacrificial death. Exodus 24:8 says: “Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’”. Isaiah 53:11-12 foretells: “... The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors”.
14:22: “this is my body”: Translations. such as represents or symbolizes fail to do justice to the realism of the words. [ NJBC]
14:23: “he took a cup”: At a Passover meal the bread would be shared toward the beginning and the cup (actually three cups) in the course of it. Here the cup follows after the bread (as in the accounts of Paul and of Luke), which suggests that it was not an official Passover meal. [ NJBC] In 1 Corinthians 11:25, Paul states what he has received from the Lord about the Last Supper and had handed on to the Corinthian church: “In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’”. See also Luke 22:20.
14:24: “my blood of the covenant”: This is an allusion to Exodus 24:8, quoted above. [ NJBC]
14:24: “for many”: An allusion to Isaiah 53:12 (one of the Servant Songs) and gives the action a sacrificial dimension. [ NJBC]
14:24: See also Hebrews 9:20; Matthew 20:28; Mark 1:4; Exodus 24:6-8. In the background of Jesus’ words are several important ideas in Judaism:
one’s sins lead to death;
God has rescued his people, as from Egypt, and may be trusted to deliver from death itself;
in mercy God forgives those who obey him;
God will make a new covenant: see Jeremiah 31:31-34. [ NOAB]
Jesus speaks of his blood as being the mediating reality in a new relationship between God and humankind. In 10:45, Jesus speaks of “his life [as] a ransom for many”. A “ransom” is given to gain release. There Jesus speaks of his life and death as achieving freedom for “many”, i.e. with no specified limit to a few, but does not spell out details. See also Luke 4:18; 13:29; 1 Timothy 2:5-6. [ NOAB]
14:25: “until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God”: This places the Last Supper in the context of the messianic banquet (see 6:35-44, the feeding of the five thousand, and 8:1-10, the feeding of the four thousand). Rather than seeing the Last Supper (and the Eucharist) as an isolated event, it is important to connect it with Jesus' earlier meals with tax collectors and sinners (see 2:16) and to the future eschatological banquet. [ NJBC]
14:26: A Passover meal ended with the singing of Psalms 115-118, the second part of the Hallelujah psalms. [ NOAB]
14:26: “they went out”: John 18:1-2 tells us : “After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples”. [ NOAB]
14:27: In John 16:32, Jesus tells his disciples: “‘The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me’”. [ NOAB]
14:27: “I will strike the shepherd”: Jesus is identified as a shepherd in 6:34. The quotation is Zechariah 13:7 – a prediction of both Jesus’ death and the flight of the disciples. [ NJBC]
14:28: This verse points forward to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. The “ young man” (see 16:5) at the tomb on Easter Day tells the two Marys and Salome “‘But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’” (see 16:7) [ NJBC]
14:30: See also 14:66-72; John 13:26-38; 18:17-18, 25-27. [ NOAB]
14:32: See also John 18:1, quoted above, and Hebrews 5:7-8. [ NOAB]
14:32-52: What sustains Jesus is his unique relationship to God and his conviction that God's will revealed in the Scriptures is being fulfilled. [ NJBC]
14:32-42: Only Mark reports Jesus’ prayer that he might escape the period (“hour”) of agony through which he is soon to pass, and his addressing God as “Abba”. [ CAB] Mark’s version of the agony in the garden presents Jesus as the obedient Son of God who struggles to accept God's will in his passion. It portrays the disciples as hopelessly unaware of what is going on, thus as an example to be avoided. [ NJBC]
14:33: “began to be distressed and agitated”: The text expresses his deep emotional plight in the face of his impending death. This emphasis does not necessarily contradict the stress on Jesus' foreknowledge and acceptance of God's will in the preceding passages, since one can be terrified of what awaits one, that is, one’s fate (e.g. as a cancer patient does). [ NJBC]
14:34: In John 12:27, Jesus says: “‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour’’”. [ NOAB]
14:34: “I am deeply grieved, even to death”: NJBC offers my soul is sorrowful, even unto death. In speaking to the three disciples, Jesus uses the language of Psalm 42:6, 12. [ NJBC]
14:35-36: Jesus would not accept for himself the possibility of anything contrary to God’s will. [ NOAB]
14:36ff: This prayer bears some resemblance to the Lord’s Prayer. See Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. [ NJBC]
14:36: “Abba”: In Romans 8:15-16, Paul writes: “... When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. See also Galatians 4:6. This word passed into the prayer life of the early Church. [ NOAB]
14:36: “cup”: A metaphor for that which is allotted by God, whether blessing (see Psalms 16:5; 116:13) or judgement (see Isaiah 51:17 and Lamentations 4:21). It here refers to Jesus’ suffering and death. See also Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:38. [ NOAB]
14:36: “not what I want, but what you want”: Jesus had to discipline himself to accept his sufferings. Recall the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. [ NJBC]
14:41: The three passion predictions (see 8:3 1; 9:3 1; 10:33-34) are being fulfilled. [ NJBC]
14:43: “Judas”: The synoptic gospels do not report his movements on this night. John 13:30 says “after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night” and John 18:3 “Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there [i.e. to the garden across the Kidron valley] with lanterns and torches and weapons”. [ NOAB]
14:43: “a crowd”: The arrest is carried out by a kind of mob, rather than by the Temple police (as stated in Luke 22:52) or the Roman soldiers (John 18:3,12 says). [ NJBC]
14:47: “one ... who stood near”: According to John 18:10, it was Peter. [ NOAB] Luke 22:50-51 tells us that Jesus healed the man's ear. The Greek suggests that only part of the ear was cut off. [ NJBC]
14:49: Luke 19:47 tells us: “Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard”. and John 18:19-21 tells us Jesus’ answer to the high priest: “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret” . [ NOAB]
14:49: “Day after day”: Mark has told us that Jesus had only been in Jerusalem for three days , so that Jesus had been teaching “day after day” in the Temple looks odd. [ NJBC]
14:49: “let the scriptures be fulfilled”: Apparently a reference to 14:27 (where Zechariah 13:7 is quoted), though it may be meant in a more general sense, as in 14:21 (“the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”). [ NJBC]
14:51: “A certain young man”: His identity is not disclosed. Perhaps he was sleeping in the house where Jesus ate the Last Supper and rose hastily from bed to follow Jesus to Gethsemane. If the house was that of Mary, the mother of John and Mark (where the disciples met at a later date: see Acts 12:12), it is possible that the “young man” was the Evangelist himself. [ NOAB] Only Mark mentions him. [ CAB] The identity of the young disciple who flees away naked has attracted many guesses through the centuries. [ NJBC]
14:53-15:15: Throughout the trials, Jesus the innocent sufferer remains almost entirely silent: see Isaiah 53:7. [ NJBC]
14:53-65: Mark presents the hearing at the high priest's house on the first evening of Passover as a full-scale trial (though there are serious historical problems connected with this portrayal). Could the whole Sanhedrin meet there (see 14:64)? Would they have met there on the first night of Passover? These problems suggest that Jesus underwent a preliminary hearing at the house of the high priest on the evening before the first evening of Passover (see 14:12-16). The preliminary hearing was conducted by a small group or committee of Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]
14:55: The Law required at least two witnesses who gave the same testimony. See Numbers 35:30 and Deuteronomy 19:15. Jesus endorses this law in Matthew 18:16. [ NOAB]
14:55: “the chief priests and the whole council”: Mark presents the hearing as a full-scale trial before the whole Sanhedrin. This tendency was probably part of the general Christian effort to play down Roman involvement and to play up Jewish involvement in Jesus' death. [ NJBC] Was this because Christians needed to live in a degree of harmony with the civil authorities?
14:58: “‘I will destroy this temple”: Jesus may have contrasted Temple worship in the present with the kind of worship that will prevail when God's kingdom comes. The “I” may have been God, or perhaps even Jesus speaking in God's name. The saying probably had some relation to the cleansing of the Temple (see 11:15-19). Later New Testament writers tended to spiritualise it (see Matthew 26:61; John 2:21; Acts 6:14) in the light of the fact that the Romans rather than Jesus destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70. [ NJBC]
14:61: “‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One”: Peter has identified Jesus as the “Messiah” in 8:29; a voice from heaven has identified Jesus as “my Son, the Beloved” in 1:11 (at his baptism) and 9:7 (his transfiguration). [ NJBC]
14:62: According to NOAB, this is Daniel 7:13 combined with the thought of Psalm 110:1.
14:63: “tore his clothes”: An action expressing grief. See also Acts 14:14 (Paul and Barnabas lament that they are taken for Greek gods) and Joel 2:12-13 (“... rend your hearts and not your clothing ...”). [ NOAB]
14:64: “All of them condemned him as deserving death”: Jesus was probably viewed as a Jewish political-religious agitator (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 17.10.4-88 269-85; 18.4.1 85-87; 20.8.6 167-72) who threatened the power of both the Romans and the Jewish leaders. [ NJBC]
14:64: “All of them”: But according to Luke 23:51 Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, had not assented. [ NOAB]
14:65: “‘Prophesy!’”: This request carries the irony that the treatment fulfills the Old Testament prophecies found in Servant Songs (see Isaiah 50:4-6; 53:3-5). It may also allude to popular perceptions about Jesus as a prophet (see Mark 6:15; 8:28). [ NJBC]
14:66-72: Note the progression in the audiences for Peter's denials: a “servant girl” ( 14:66), the “servant-girl” plus some “bystanders” ( 14:69), and “the bystanders” ( 14:70). [ NJBC]
Comments: Peter’s dialect shows him to be Galilean: On the Day of Pentecost, the crowd asks: “‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans’” (Acts 2:7).
14:66: See also 14:30. [ NOAB]
14:71: “curse”: Peter not only denies his participation in the movement, but confirms by a “curse” his lack of links with Jesus. [ CAB]
14:72: “the cock crowed for the second time”: i.e. before dawn. In 13:35, Jesus warns: “Therefore, keep awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn ...” [ NOAB]
14:72: “he broke down”: The meaning of the Greek is uncertain. [ NOAB]
15:1-5: To CAB, the sanhedrin is a regional one, not the national one.
15:1: “As soon as it was morning”: Jewish law required that the Sanhedrin take formal action by daylight. See also Luke 23:1 and John 18:28-32. [ NOAB] This verse seems to assume the occurrence of a second official meeting of the Sanhedrin in the morning (see also Matthew 26:66; 27:1). [ NJBC]
15:2: “Pilate”: Pilate's headquarters were at Caesarea Maritima; he came to Jerusalem to oversee the Passover pilgrimage, lest trouble break out. [ NJBC]
15:2: “‘Are you the King of the Jews?’”: Pilate's question is a political translation of the titles Messiah and Son of God. It shows that the strategy against Jesus was to connect him with political-messianic movements of the time and to condemn him as a revolutionary. [ NJBC]
15:3: “the chief priests accused him of many things”: Their repeated accusations contrast with the silence of Jesus See also Isaiah 53:7 and Psalm 38:13-15. [ NJBC]
15:6: “he used to release a prisoner for them”: Perhaps the occasional practice of amnesty has been made into a custom by the evangelists or their sources. [ NJBC]
15:7: “Barabbas”: The name is a transliteration of the Aramaic bar ‘abba’, son of the father. [ NJBC]
15:7: “insurrection”: We have no record of this particular insurrection. The crime was more serious than that of brigandage. See also 15:27. John 18:40 tells us “... Barabbas was a bandit”. [ NOAB]
15:11: See also Acts 3:14 (Peter’s statement to the sanhedrin). [ NOAB]
15:13: “Crucify him!”: Mark tells us that Pilate had Jesus crucified not because he was guilty but because the high priests through the crowd put pressure on him (“wishing to satisfy the crowd” according to 15:15) [ NJBC]
15:13: Deuteronomy 21:23 states that a religious curse is implicit in crucifixion. [ NOAB]
15:15: “after flogging Jesus”: The victim was bound to a pillar. [ NJBC]
15:16-47: Jesus is put to death as king of the Jews in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, without playing down the implacable hatred displayed by his adversaries: see 14:21. [ NJBC]
15:16: “the whole cohort”: At full strength, about 500 men. [ NOAB] These men were natives of Palestine and Syria, recruited by the Romans. [ NJBC]
15:21: “Simon of Cyrene”: It is not stated whether he was in Jerusalem as a pilgrim or as a permanent resident [ NJBC] “Cyrene” was the capital city of the north African district of Cyrenaica. The city had a large Jewish community. [ NOAB]
15:21: “Alexander and Rufus”: Probably also known to the Christians who first read Mark. A connection with the “Rufus” Paul greets in Romans 16:13 is possible but has not been established. [ NOAB]
15:22: “Golgotha”: In Jesus' time this place was outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The traditional name Calvary comes from the Latin word for skull, calvaria. [ NJBC]
15:23: “wine mixed with myrrh”: On the basis of Proverbs 31:6-7, the phrase is usually interpreted as a narcotic to ease the pain of the dying person. [ NJBC]
15:25: “nine o'clock in the morning”: Mark’s chronology and John’s differ: according to John 19:14, Jesus was crucified “about noon”. [ NJBC]
15:29: See also 13:2; 14:58; John 2:19. [ NOAB] The claim that Jesus promised to rebuild the Temple in three days distorts his prediction that he will rise from the dead after three days. The accusers confuse his identity with the fate of the Temple. [ CAB]
15:31: The quotation is Psalm 22:7-8. [ NOAB] The “chief priests” and “scribes” echo the charge in 14:61 that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. [ NJBC]
15:32: While here in Mark “those ... crucified” with Jesus “also taunt him, in Luke 23:39-43 one of the criminals acknowledges Jesus’ innocence and asks to be remembered when he comes into his kingdom. [ NJBC]
15:33-39: Jesus' death took place according to God's will made known in the Old Testament. [ NJBC]
15:33: “darkness came over the whole land”: The “land” is most likely Judea. The darkness has been variously interpreted as a sandstorm, an eclipse of the sun (see Luke 23:45, “while the sun's light failed”), or the fulfilment of Amos 8:9: “On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight”. [ NJBC]
15:34: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice”: After a loud cry, Jesus expelled his breath, which implies a voluntary action.
15:35: “he is calling for Elijah”: For Elijah as forerunner of the kingdom, see Mark 1:6; 9:11-13. [ NJBC]
15:36: Psalm 69:21 says “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”. The motive in offering the “sour wine” may have been to revive Jesus, thus prolonging the ordeal. [ NOAB]
15:38: The “curtain” closed off the holy place from the Holy of Holies (see Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 9:3), the sanctuary which represented God’s presence with his people. See also 2 Kings 19:14-15; 2 Chronicles 6:1-2, 18-21; Hebrews 10:19-20. [ NOAB] The rending of the “curtain” at Jesus' death suggests the end of the old covenant with Israel. [ NJBC]
15:39: “‘Truly this man was God's Son!’”: The centurion's confession echoes the opening words of the Gospel: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. [ NJBC]
15:40: “Mary Magdalene”: She saw Jesus die, knew where he was buried ( 15:47), and went to the tomb on Easter Day ( 16:1).
15:40: “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”: To CAB, “James the younger” may be James the son of Alpheus (see 3:18 and Acts 1:13) and “Joses” one of Jesus’ (half-) brothers (see 6:3; “Joseph” in Matthew 13:55). “Salome”, mentioned again in 16:1, is not mentioned in Matthew’s account. [ NJBC] To NJBC, “Mary” is not the mother of Jesus.
15:41: Luke 8:1-3 tells us that women travelled with Jesus and his disciples. Some of the women provided financial support; some had been cured by Jesus. [ NOAB]
15:42: i.e. late afternoon on Friday. [ NOAB] The Sabbath would begin at sunset.
15:46: Acts 13:29 tells us that as Paul tells those attending the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia about Jesus he says: “When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb”. [ NOAB]
15:46: “laid it in a tomb ...”: The area around Jerusalem in Jesus' time has been described as a gigantic cemetery. [ NJBC]
7 Tikhon, Patriarch of Russia and Confessor, 1925 was the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Church during the early years of the Soviet Union, 1917 through 1925.
8 William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877. Anne Ayres, Religious, 1896
9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theologian and Martyr, 1945
10 William Law, Priest, 1761. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Scientist and Military Chaplain, 1955
11 George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand, and of Lichfield, 1878
12 Adoniram Judson, Missionary to Burma, 1850 was an American Congregationalist and later Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson[1] became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America[2] to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionarie
14 Edward Thomas Demby, 1957, and Henry Beard Delany, 1928, Bishops
FIRST READING: Acts 10: 34 - 43 (all)
Acts 10:34 (NRSV) Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Note: the Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 34b-36.
Isaiah 25: 6 - 9 (alt. for RCL)
Isai 25:6 (NRSV) On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
7 And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
8 Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 14 - 24 (RCL)
118: 1 - 2, 16 - 17, 22 - 23 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
14 The LORD is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
Note: Vs. 1 & 2 are optional for C of E and are omitted for Can. BAS
118 Confitemini Domino (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”
14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.
15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:
16 "The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"
17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
Lord, send us now success.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 11 (RCL)
1Cor 15:1 (NRSV) Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Ce'phas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Colossians 3: 1 - 4 (Roman Catholic)
Colo 3:1 (NRSV) So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Acts 10: 34 - 43 (alt. for RCL)
[If not previously used; see above for text]
1 Corinthians 5: 6b - 8 (alt. for Roman Catholic)
1Cor 5:6 (NRSV) Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
GOSPEL: John 20: 1 - 18 (RCL)
John 20: 1 - 9 (Roman Catholic)
John 20:1 (NRSV) Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbou'ni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18 Mary Mag'dalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
h/t Montreal Anglican
Early on Sunday morning, before dawn, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) comes to the tomb and finds that the “stone” door has been rolled back, so she and those with her (“we”, v. 2) tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 3, traditionally John) that they suspect that someone has removed the body. The “other disciple”, apparently younger, outruns Peter (v. 5). But the orderliness of the “cloth” (v. 7) and “linen wrappings” show that the body has neither been stolen nor spiritualized.
John, when he sees, comes to trust that God is active; by implication, Peter does not understand yet. They do not yet understand the significance of what is occurring (v. 9), of how it fits into God’s plan, because they have not yet received the Holy Spirit.
Mary, still thinking that the body has been moved, has returned to the cemetery. In her grief, she sees “two angels in white” (v. 12), heavenly messengers. She recognizes Jesus when he calls her by name. But something has changed: they are in a new relationship: “do not hold on to me” (v. 17). To John the evangelist, Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, exaltation and return to heavenly glory, his ascension, are parts of a single event.
Verse 1: “while it was still dark”: That the women visit the tomb at dawn is stated in the synoptic gospels. Perhaps the writer has added darkness to incorporate his scene into the light symbolism of the gospel. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: Mary must have looked into the tomb to be able to tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 2) that the body of Jesus is missing. Only in v. 11 are we told that she “bent over to look in the tomb”. [ NJBC]
Verse 2: “We” is plural in the Greek, so it is likely that John worked from a source which included other women in these verses. (Mark includes other women.) [ BlkJn] [ NJBC]
Verse 4: “the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”: In this gospel, Peter takes second place to “the other disciple”:
At the Last Supper, it is the beloved disciple who sits in the place of greater honour: see 13:23
Peter asks this disciple the identity of the traitor: see 13:24
Peter gains access to the high priest’s courtyard through the beloved disciple: see 18:15
The beloved disciple is entrusted with the care of Jesus’ mother: see 19:26
When Jesus appears to the disciples in Galilee, it is the beloved disciple who identifies Jesus to Peter: see 21:7
After being commissioned, Peter is rebuffed for asking about the beloved disciple’s task: see 21:20-24. [ BlkJn]
In v. 8, it is the beloved disciple that sees and believes, not Peter.
Verse 6: That Peter goes into the tomb while “the other disciple” stays outside is consistent with Peter’s temperament shown elsewhere in the gospels. See also 6:68 and 18:10. [ BlkJn]
Verse 6: “He saw the linen wrappings lying there”: Note the difference from Lazarus: he needed unbinding ( 11:44); Jesus does not. In the synoptic gospels, the grave clothes are not mentioned, so presumably they were absent: see Mark 16:6; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:3, 23. [ BlkJn]
Verse 9: “the scripture”: There is no specific scriptural reference, so John is probably saying that Jesus’ fulfills salvation history. However, the term scripture may well include the apocrypha to the New Testament and pseudepigrapha. When John wrote, neither the Jewish canon of the Old Testament nor that of the New Testament existed. The Greek word refers to a writing, not necessarily Scripture as we understand it.
BlkJn points out that “scripture” is in the singular, so a specific text is intended. He suggests Psalm 16:10, “For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit”.
Comments: they have not yet received the Holy Spirit: When do the disciples receive the Holy Spirit in John? In 14:16, Jesus says to the disciples: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever”. So, in a sense, the Spirit is active in Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, in 16:7 Jesus says: “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”. So the Holy Spirit is with the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and is more fully with them after his ascension.
Verses 11-18: To BlkJn, this is a separate incident which is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament only in the spurious longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20), though there are superficial similarities to Matthew 28:8-10. Here Mary is calm when she discovers the angels while in the synoptic gospels, the women are afraid: see Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:5 and Matthew 28:5, 8. Further, here the angels do not deliver a message while they do in the synoptic gospels. [ BlkJn] To NJBC, the evangelist has reworked a traditional story in which the risen Christ appeared to either Mary Magdalene alone or in the company of other women near the tomb. He has recast the resurrection message so that it is clear that Jesus’ return is not to the disciples in the various appearance stories. His return is his exaltation to his place with the Father: see 14:18-19; 16:22; 3:13; 6:62. [ NJBC]
Verse 12: Mary sees “two angels in white” but apparently Peter and the other disciple did not (at vv. 6-7).
Verse 14: “she did not know that it was Jesus”: Mary also fails to recognize Jesus in other resurrection stories: see 21:4, 7, 12; Luke 24:16ff; Matthew 28:17. See also Luke 24:37-41. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “Sir”: The Greek word is kurios also translated as Lord with divine connotations. Kurios is also used in vv. 2, 13, 15, 18, 20 and 25. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “gardener”: a Jewish cemetery was much like a garden. Mary would be physically unable to “take him away”: this is an expression of her love for Jesus.
Verse 16: “Rabbouni” is a variant form of Rabbi, meaning teacher. Mary wishes to resume the relationship she has previously enjoyed with Jesus. [ BlkJn]
Verse 17: One should not think of Jesus’ resurrection as though he had returned to life and then later ascended into heaven. Rather, Jesus has passed into an entirely different reality. 14:22-23 answers the question of how Jesus will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world in terms of love and the indwelling presence of Father and Son with the disciples. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “Do not hold on to me ...”: In Matthew 28:9-10, the women grasp the risen Lord’s feet in a gesture of worship. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “my Father ... your God”: The Father truly is Jesus’ Father; Christians acquire their relationship to him through Christ.
Verses 19-22: Jesus appears to his disciples. As a community, as the Church, they now receive the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16: 1 - 8 (alt. for RCL)
Mark 16:1 (NRSV) When the sabbath was over, Mary Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salo'me bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
On Saturday after sundown, “when the sabbath was over”, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) and others buy spices to anoint Jesus’ body. (Because Jesus died only hours before the Sabbath, there was no time to anoint it before he was buried. Buying spices on the Sabbath was permitted, but not aromatic oils and salves used for burial preparation.)
Early on Sunday morning (“the first day of the week”, v. 2), they go to the tomb, wondering who will roll away the heavy disk-shaped “stone” (v. 3) forming its door. (A tomb was cut out of the rock, and the “stone” ran in a track.) But they find the tomb open (v. 4) and realize what the empty tomb means: “‘he has been raised’” (v. 6).
The “young man, dressed in a white robe” (v. 5) is a heavenly messenger; he probably sits on a shelf intended for a body. It is the faithful women who first hear the Easter message. In v. 7, the angel tells them to inform the disciples that he “is going ahead of” them, will appear to them in Galilee, just as he told them during his earthly ministry. The women flee, seized with “terror and amazement” (v. 8), overcome with awe.
The parallels are Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-11 and John 20:1-10. [ NOAB]
Jesus has been anointed at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany. This serves as his preparation for burial.
The emptiness of the tomb was not a proof of Jesus’ resurrection, but it was a necessary condition for the disciples to proclaim that Jesus had risen. ( Matthew 28:11-15 tells us of a Jewish claim that the disciples had stolen the body.) [ NJBC]
Verse 1: Luke 23:56 tells us “It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment” and John 19:39-40 says “Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [ NOAB] Thus John 19:40 says that Jesus’ corpse had already been prepared for burial, but Mark 14:8 and this verse assume that the preparations had not been completed. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went simply to see the tomb. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Mary Magdalene”: She has seen Jesus die ( 15:40) and knew where he was buried ( 15:47). She now goes to the tomb on Easter Day. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Salome”: She is also mentioned in 15:40, as a witness to Jesus’ death. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “spices”: Incense, of which spices were an ingredient, were also used to prepare the tent of meeting for worship: see Exodus 30:34-36. [ CAB]
Verse 2: “the first day of the week”: i.e. Nissan 17. [ NJBC]
Verse 2: The “tomb” is that provided by Joseph of Arimathea. He intended it for his own body. Bodies remained in a tomb for about a year; then the bones were moved to an ossuary.
Verse 3: “stone”: The track in which it travelled ran downhill to the entrance to the tomb, making it even harder to move.
Verse 5: “a young man”: (Greek: neaniskos). Only Mark tells us about him. Mark has told us of a neaniskos who fled when Jesus was arrested: see 14:51-52. Matthew 28:5 says that the herald was an angel. [ NJBC]
Verse 7: “he is going ahead of you to Galilee”: In Matthew 28:7, it is an angel that tells the disciples this news, which, in Mark, Jesus has told the disciples as they walk to the Mount of Olives: see 14:28. For post-resurrection appearances in Galilee, see John 21:1-23. [ NOAB] Before appearing in Galilee, Jesus appears in Jerusalem: see Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:13-19 and John 20. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “For they were afraid”: The Greek expression is unusual in style and abrupt in effect, especially if, as is possible, it originally ended the Gospel. Fear here (probably overwhelming awe) is the pervasive consequence of “alarm” (v. 5) and of “terror and amazement” (v. 8) that resulted in fright and silence (v. 8). In contrast, in Matthew 28:8-10 fear is part of an emotional state that includes joy (v. 8) and is controlled by worship (v. 9) and acceptance of mission (v. 10). Though silent here, in Matthew 28:8 the women run to tell the disciples. as they do in Luke 24:9-11, 22-24. In the longer ending of Mark (vv. 9-20), at v. 9-10, Mary Magdalene goes out “and tells those who had been with him”. [ NOAB]
8 William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877. Anne Ayres, Religious, 1896
9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theologian and Martyr, 1945
10 William Law, Priest, 1761. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Scientist and Military Chaplain, 1955
11 George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand, and of Lichfield, 1878
12 Adoniram Judson, Missionary to Burma, 1850 was an American Congregationalist and later Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson[1] became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America[2] to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionarie
14 Edward Thomas Demby, 1957, and Henry Beard Delany, 1928, Bishops
FIRST READING: Acts 10: 34 - 43 (all)
Acts 10:34 (NRSV) Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Note: the Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 34b-36.
Isaiah 25: 6 - 9 (alt. for RCL)
Isai 25:6 (NRSV) On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
7 And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
8 Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 14 - 24 (RCL)
118: 1 - 2, 16 - 17, 22 - 23 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
14 The LORD is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
Note: Vs. 1 & 2 are optional for C of E and are omitted for Can. BAS
118 Confitemini Domino (ECUSA BCP)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”
14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.
15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:
16 "The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"
17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
Lord, send us now success.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 11 (RCL)
1Cor 15:1 (NRSV) Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Ce'phas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Colossians 3: 1 - 4 (Roman Catholic)
Colo 3:1 (NRSV) So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Acts 10: 34 - 43 (alt. for RCL)
[If not previously used; see above for text]
1 Corinthians 5: 6b - 8 (alt. for Roman Catholic)
1Cor 5:6 (NRSV) Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
GOSPEL: John 20: 1 - 18 (RCL)
John 20: 1 - 9 (Roman Catholic)
John 20:1 (NRSV) Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbou'ni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18 Mary Mag'dalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
h/t Montreal Anglican
Early on Sunday morning, before dawn, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) comes to the tomb and finds that the “stone” door has been rolled back, so she and those with her (“we”, v. 2) tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 3, traditionally John) that they suspect that someone has removed the body. The “other disciple”, apparently younger, outruns Peter (v. 5). But the orderliness of the “cloth” (v. 7) and “linen wrappings” show that the body has neither been stolen nor spiritualized.
John, when he sees, comes to trust that God is active; by implication, Peter does not understand yet. They do not yet understand the significance of what is occurring (v. 9), of how it fits into God’s plan, because they have not yet received the Holy Spirit.
Mary, still thinking that the body has been moved, has returned to the cemetery. In her grief, she sees “two angels in white” (v. 12), heavenly messengers. She recognizes Jesus when he calls her by name. But something has changed: they are in a new relationship: “do not hold on to me” (v. 17). To John the evangelist, Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, exaltation and return to heavenly glory, his ascension, are parts of a single event.
Verse 1: “while it was still dark”: That the women visit the tomb at dawn is stated in the synoptic gospels. Perhaps the writer has added darkness to incorporate his scene into the light symbolism of the gospel. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: Mary must have looked into the tomb to be able to tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 2) that the body of Jesus is missing. Only in v. 11 are we told that she “bent over to look in the tomb”. [ NJBC]
Verse 2: “We” is plural in the Greek, so it is likely that John worked from a source which included other women in these verses. (Mark includes other women.) [ BlkJn] [ NJBC]
Verse 4: “the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”: In this gospel, Peter takes second place to “the other disciple”:
At the Last Supper, it is the beloved disciple who sits in the place of greater honour: see 13:23
Peter asks this disciple the identity of the traitor: see 13:24
Peter gains access to the high priest’s courtyard through the beloved disciple: see 18:15
The beloved disciple is entrusted with the care of Jesus’ mother: see 19:26
When Jesus appears to the disciples in Galilee, it is the beloved disciple who identifies Jesus to Peter: see 21:7
After being commissioned, Peter is rebuffed for asking about the beloved disciple’s task: see 21:20-24. [ BlkJn]
In v. 8, it is the beloved disciple that sees and believes, not Peter.
Verse 6: That Peter goes into the tomb while “the other disciple” stays outside is consistent with Peter’s temperament shown elsewhere in the gospels. See also 6:68 and 18:10. [ BlkJn]
Verse 6: “He saw the linen wrappings lying there”: Note the difference from Lazarus: he needed unbinding ( 11:44); Jesus does not. In the synoptic gospels, the grave clothes are not mentioned, so presumably they were absent: see Mark 16:6; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:3, 23. [ BlkJn]
Verse 9: “the scripture”: There is no specific scriptural reference, so John is probably saying that Jesus’ fulfills salvation history. However, the term scripture may well include the apocrypha to the New Testament and pseudepigrapha. When John wrote, neither the Jewish canon of the Old Testament nor that of the New Testament existed. The Greek word refers to a writing, not necessarily Scripture as we understand it.
BlkJn points out that “scripture” is in the singular, so a specific text is intended. He suggests Psalm 16:10, “For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit”.
Comments: they have not yet received the Holy Spirit: When do the disciples receive the Holy Spirit in John? In 14:16, Jesus says to the disciples: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever”. So, in a sense, the Spirit is active in Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, in 16:7 Jesus says: “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”. So the Holy Spirit is with the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and is more fully with them after his ascension.
Verses 11-18: To BlkJn, this is a separate incident which is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament only in the spurious longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20), though there are superficial similarities to Matthew 28:8-10. Here Mary is calm when she discovers the angels while in the synoptic gospels, the women are afraid: see Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:5 and Matthew 28:5, 8. Further, here the angels do not deliver a message while they do in the synoptic gospels. [ BlkJn] To NJBC, the evangelist has reworked a traditional story in which the risen Christ appeared to either Mary Magdalene alone or in the company of other women near the tomb. He has recast the resurrection message so that it is clear that Jesus’ return is not to the disciples in the various appearance stories. His return is his exaltation to his place with the Father: see 14:18-19; 16:22; 3:13; 6:62. [ NJBC]
Verse 12: Mary sees “two angels in white” but apparently Peter and the other disciple did not (at vv. 6-7).
Verse 14: “she did not know that it was Jesus”: Mary also fails to recognize Jesus in other resurrection stories: see 21:4, 7, 12; Luke 24:16ff; Matthew 28:17. See also Luke 24:37-41. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “Sir”: The Greek word is kurios also translated as Lord with divine connotations. Kurios is also used in vv. 2, 13, 15, 18, 20 and 25. [ BlkJn]
Verse 15: “gardener”: a Jewish cemetery was much like a garden. Mary would be physically unable to “take him away”: this is an expression of her love for Jesus.
Verse 16: “Rabbouni” is a variant form of Rabbi, meaning teacher. Mary wishes to resume the relationship she has previously enjoyed with Jesus. [ BlkJn]
Verse 17: One should not think of Jesus’ resurrection as though he had returned to life and then later ascended into heaven. Rather, Jesus has passed into an entirely different reality. 14:22-23 answers the question of how Jesus will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world in terms of love and the indwelling presence of Father and Son with the disciples. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “Do not hold on to me ...”: In Matthew 28:9-10, the women grasp the risen Lord’s feet in a gesture of worship. [ NJBC]
Verse 17: “my Father ... your God”: The Father truly is Jesus’ Father; Christians acquire their relationship to him through Christ.
Verses 19-22: Jesus appears to his disciples. As a community, as the Church, they now receive the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16: 1 - 8 (alt. for RCL)
Mark 16:1 (NRSV) When the sabbath was over, Mary Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salo'me bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
On Saturday after sundown, “when the sabbath was over”, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) and others buy spices to anoint Jesus’ body. (Because Jesus died only hours before the Sabbath, there was no time to anoint it before he was buried. Buying spices on the Sabbath was permitted, but not aromatic oils and salves used for burial preparation.)
Early on Sunday morning (“the first day of the week”, v. 2), they go to the tomb, wondering who will roll away the heavy disk-shaped “stone” (v. 3) forming its door. (A tomb was cut out of the rock, and the “stone” ran in a track.) But they find the tomb open (v. 4) and realize what the empty tomb means: “‘he has been raised’” (v. 6).
The “young man, dressed in a white robe” (v. 5) is a heavenly messenger; he probably sits on a shelf intended for a body. It is the faithful women who first hear the Easter message. In v. 7, the angel tells them to inform the disciples that he “is going ahead of” them, will appear to them in Galilee, just as he told them during his earthly ministry. The women flee, seized with “terror and amazement” (v. 8), overcome with awe.
The parallels are Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-11 and John 20:1-10. [ NOAB]
Jesus has been anointed at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany. This serves as his preparation for burial.
The emptiness of the tomb was not a proof of Jesus’ resurrection, but it was a necessary condition for the disciples to proclaim that Jesus had risen. ( Matthew 28:11-15 tells us of a Jewish claim that the disciples had stolen the body.) [ NJBC]
Verse 1: Luke 23:56 tells us “It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment” and John 19:39-40 says “Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [ NOAB] Thus John 19:40 says that Jesus’ corpse had already been prepared for burial, but Mark 14:8 and this verse assume that the preparations had not been completed. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went simply to see the tomb. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Mary Magdalene”: She has seen Jesus die ( 15:40) and knew where he was buried ( 15:47). She now goes to the tomb on Easter Day. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Salome”: She is also mentioned in 15:40, as a witness to Jesus’ death. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “spices”: Incense, of which spices were an ingredient, were also used to prepare the tent of meeting for worship: see Exodus 30:34-36. [ CAB]
Verse 2: “the first day of the week”: i.e. Nissan 17. [ NJBC]
Verse 2: The “tomb” is that provided by Joseph of Arimathea. He intended it for his own body. Bodies remained in a tomb for about a year; then the bones were moved to an ossuary.
Verse 3: “stone”: The track in which it travelled ran downhill to the entrance to the tomb, making it even harder to move.
Verse 5: “a young man”: (Greek: neaniskos). Only Mark tells us about him. Mark has told us of a neaniskos who fled when Jesus was arrested: see 14:51-52. Matthew 28:5 says that the herald was an angel. [ NJBC]
Verse 7: “he is going ahead of you to Galilee”: In Matthew 28:7, it is an angel that tells the disciples this news, which, in Mark, Jesus has told the disciples as they walk to the Mount of Olives: see 14:28. For post-resurrection appearances in Galilee, see John 21:1-23. [ NOAB] Before appearing in Galilee, Jesus appears in Jerusalem: see Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:13-19 and John 20. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “For they were afraid”: The Greek expression is unusual in style and abrupt in effect, especially if, as is possible, it originally ended the Gospel. Fear here (probably overwhelming awe) is the pervasive consequence of “alarm” (v. 5) and of “terror and amazement” (v. 8) that resulted in fright and silence (v. 8). In contrast, in Matthew 28:8-10 fear is part of an emotional state that includes joy (v. 8) and is controlled by worship (v. 9) and acceptance of mission (v. 10). Though silent here, in Matthew 28:8 the women run to tell the disciples. as they do in Luke 24:9-11, 22-24. In the longer ending of Mark (vv. 9-20), at v. 9-10, Mary Magdalene goes out “and tells those who had been with him”. [ NOAB]
Saturday, March 21, 2015
23 Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop and Missionary of Armenia, c. 332 is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301.
24 Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, 1980
25 The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary
26 Richard Allen, First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1831
27 Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines, and of Western New York, 1929
29 John Keble, Priest, 1866
OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 31: 31 - 34 (all)
Jere 31:31 (NRSV) The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
PSALM 51: 1 - 13 (RCL)
51: 1 - 2, 10 - 13 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 51:1 (NRSV) Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Note: Verse numbering in your psalter may differ from the above
51 Miserere mei, Deus (ECUSA BCP)
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.
Psalm 119: 9 - 16 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 119:9 (NRSV) How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
119 Beth In quo corrigit? (ECUSA BCP)
9 How shall a young man cleanse his way? *
By keeping to your words.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; *
let me not stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your promise in my heart, *
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; *
instruct me in your statutes.
13 With my lips will I recite *
all the judgments of your mouth.
14 I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees *
than in all manner of riches.
15 I will meditate on your commandments *
and give attention to your ways.
16 My delight is in your statutes; *
I will not forget your word.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 5: 5 - 10 (RCL)
5: 7 - 9 (Roman Catholic)
Hebr 5:5 (NRSV) So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
"You are my Son,
today I have begotten you";
6 as he says also in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchiz'edek.
h/t Montreal Anglican
The author has spoken of the Jewish high priesthood; he has said that a (human) high priest was “put in charge of things pertaining to God” (v. 1), on behalf of the people, to offer sacrifices for their sins. Since he himself from time to time offended God by sinning unintentionally, “he is able to deal gently” (v. 2) with others who commit such sins, and “must offer sacrifice for his own sins” (v. 3) as well. Further, one could only become a high priest when called by God – “one does not presume to take this honour” (v. 4).
Now the author tells us how Jesus, whom he sees as a high priest, is like (and unlike) a Judaic high priest. Jesus too was called by God (v. 5): some manuscripts of Luke 3:22 record that, at his baptism, the “voice” speaks the words quoted here. But Jesus, per Psalm 110:4, is different: he is a priest “forever” (v. 6). (“Melchizedek” is mentioned in Genesis 14:17-20; there he brings bread and wine, and blesses Abram. In Hebrews, he resembles the Son of God and lives for ever: he is a supernatural figure foreshadowing the eternity of the Son of God – see 7:2-3.) During Jesus’ earthly life (“the days of his flesh”, v. 7), he prayed to God, to the one who could deliver him from death. But, although he was already God’s “Son” (v. 8), he “learned obedience”, he obeyed the will of the Father, he submitted reverently (v. 7): this involved suffering and death. But the Father did hear his plea: he rose again from death. He was then “made perfect” (v. 9): his priesthood was completed in his sacrifice for the sins of us all, and he was raised to be with the Father. In this way, he brings salvation to all who follow him. This salvation is forever (unlike the limited duration of that brought by Judaic high priests). He is high priest for ever.
4:14-5:14: The author resumes the theme of Jesus our high priest. In 2:17-18, he speaks of Jesus as “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God”. Jesus has two qualifications of a priest: divine appointment (see 5:4) and the ability to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (see 4:15). [ NOAB]
4:14: “great high priest”: Philo uses this designation for the Logos (the “word” of John 1:1-14) in his writings. Elsewhere in Hebrews, Christ is simply the “high priest”. He may include “great” here because he is making a comparison. [ NJBC]
4:14: “who has passed through the heavens”: That Christ was pre-existent is meant. 1:1-2 say: “God ... has spoken to us by a Son, ... through whom he also created the worlds”. Note the plurals. The Greek word translated as “worlds”, aion, can also mean ages. There appears to be the concept of a number of worlds, the visible and the invisible, the latter being several heavens. 2 Enoch 3-20 also speak of multiple heavens. [ NJBC]
4:15-16: Because Christ experienced real, human testing, he is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses”. [ NOAB]
4:15: “tested as we are, yet without sin”: The author says that the only difference between Jesus’ temptations and ours is that he did not succumb to them. [ NJBC]
4:16: At God’s “throne of grace” (see also 8:1 and 12:2) humans “receive mercy” for past sins and “find grace” for present and future “need”. [ NOAB] Here the author thinks of the confident access to God that has been assured by the redemptive work of Jesus. [ NJBC]
5:1: “gifts and sacrifices”: To NOAB, grain and animal sacrifices; however NJBC thinks that no such distinction is intended. As Chapter 9 shows, the author is principally concerned with the Day of Atonement rite as the Old Testament type. [ NJBC]
5:2: The Old Testament provides no atoning sacrifice for deliberate and defiant sins (see Numbers 15:30 and Deuteronomy 17:12), only for sins committed unwittingly – by the “ignorant and wayward”: see Leviticus 4. Numbers 15:30 says “But whoever acts high-handedly ... affronts the LORD, and shall be cut off from among the people.” “Cut off” means shall receive the death penalty. [ NOAB]
5:2: “deal gently”: The Greek word corresponds to a term of Stoic philosophy signifying the right mean between passion and lack of feeling . [ NJBC]
5:4: “Aaron”: In Exodus 28:1 God chooses Aaron and his sons as priests. [ NOAB]
5:5: “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’”: This is also found in Psalm 2:7, so the author may be reinterpreting this psalm in Christian terms, as was often done with Psalm 110:4. [ CAB]
5:6: Psalm 110 begins: “The Lord [ Yahweh] says to my lord ...”. In Judaism, “my lord” is David, but early Christians reinterpreted it as Christ; thus God the Father says to God the Son, the Lord. So “you” here is Christ. In Hebrews 7:1-10, the author deduces from Genesis 14:17-20 (where King Melchizedek of Salem, a “priest of God Most High”, brings out “bread and wine” and blesses Abram, and in return receives a tithe from him) that this mysterious priest-king was greater than either Abraham or his descendant Levi. [ NOAB]
5:6: “the order of Melchizedek”: i.e. According to the rank which Melchizedek held. [ NOAB]
5:7-8: Note that one trait Jesus does not share with the Judaic high priest is “weakness” (v. 2). In 7:28, the author specifically contrasts Jesus with the Jewish high priest in this respect. It is important, however, to note that the contrast applies to the present exalted state of Christ. While on earth, Jesus experienced the weakness of human nature, especially its fear of death. Exalted, he can sympathize with those who are weak. Paul’s concept is similar: “he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:4). [ NJBC]
5:7: Jesus’ agonizing prayer in Gethsemane (see Mark 14:32-42) “was heard” in the sense that “he learned obedience” by submitting to the divine will – which involved death. [ NOAB] Some scholars see here a reference to more than just this one incident. [ NJBC]
5:8: “Although he was a Son”: The author considers Jesus’ sonship in two different ways:
He became Son when exalted, and
He was always Son because he existed with the Father even before he appeared on earth.
Later theology said that the resurrection-exaltation gave Jesus’ human nature full participation in his divine nature. The two concepts are entirely compatible. [ NJBC]
5:8: “he learned obedience”: Learning through suffering is a common motif in Greek literature. In the New Testament it occurs only here, in Romans 5:19 and in Philippians 2:8. [ NJBC]
5:9: “made perfect”: Jesus completed his divinely appointed discipline for priesthood. This phrase is characteristic of this letter (see also 2:10; 7:19, 28; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23) and means made complete, brought to maturity. [ NOAB] The Greek word, teleosis, is used in the Septuagint translation of priestly consecration, translating a Hebrew phrase to fill [the hands]: see Exodus 29:9, 29, 33, 35; Leviticus 16:32; 21:10; Numbers 3:3. This cultic notion of perfection is certainly present in Hebrews. [ NJBC]
5:9: “eternal salvation”: The author uses the word “eternal” here and in 9:12, 14,15; 13:20 (but not in 6:2) to speak of realities that endure because they belong to the heavenly sphere, which is characterized by permanence, as opposed to the transitory realities of earth. [ NJBC]
GOSPEL: John 12: 20 - 33 (all)
John 12:20 (NRSV) Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsa'ida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
At the time of the Passover (“the festival”), some Gentiles (“Greeks”) travel to Jerusalem, probably because they believe in God. Their request “to see Jesus” (v. 21, to understand his message), is conveyed to him by “Andrew and Philip” (v. 22), the two disciples with Greek names. Jesus takes this opportunity to announce that his “hour” (v. 23), his time of self revelation, determined by God, has come. He can now tell what it means for the Son to be glorified. When Jesus is glorified, then all people will truly be able to see him, but this is not the time for interviews.
He uses an example from nature to speak of the significance of his death: the paradox that a “grain of wheat” (v. 24) only bears fruit after it seems to have died and has been buried. Jesus’ death makes possible salvation for others. That the meaning of life eludes those who live it up is also a paradox; self-centeredness ends up destroying a person. (“Hate”, v. 25, is a Semitism for love less.) Serving Jesus involves following his example; this will be honoured by the Father (v. 26). In v. 27, Jesus struggles with his impending death: should he ask the Father to free him from the need to suffer and die? No, he says: such avoidance would negate his mission; his death is God’s will (v. 28a). The voice from heaven reassures: his lifework and teaching have been signs of God’s glory, of his power and presence; God will act again in raising him. The crowd miss the point of the message (v. 29), so Jesus tells them that God has spoken so that they may believe that he comes from God; he already knows this (“not for mine”, v. 30). This is when (“now”, v. 31) those who willfully turn away from him (“this world”) are condemned (it is they who are judged, not him), and when the devil (“the ruler of this world”) ceases to have power over people. When he is “lifted up from the earth” (v. 32), i.e. crucified and exalted in glory, salvation of all will be possible. This is the paradoxical “kind of death” (v. 33) he will endure.
After two contrasting scenes of the anointing of Jesus and his entry into Jerusalem, there follows an episode which deals with the contrasting reactions of Gentiles (vv. 20-36) and of Jews (vv. 44-50) to the impact of Christ on Jerusalem. [ BlkJn] This section is the conclusion of Jesus’ public ministry. [ NOAB]
Verse 20: “some Greeks”: Josephus, in Jewish Wars 6.9.3, reports that God-fearing Gentiles came to Jerusalem to worship at Passover. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “Philip”: Meaning lover of horses. [ NOAB] He responds to Jesus’ command “Follow me” in 1:43-48. Jesus tests Philip in 6:5-7. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: Philip’s hesitation is natural enough. He must have known that Jesus had little to do with Gentiles, and no vocation to any ministry towards them. In Matthew 15:24, when a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus seeking a cure for her daughter, Jesus responds “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. [ BlkJn]
Verse 22: “Andrew”: Meaning manly. He was also from “Bethsaida” (v. 21). [ NOAB]
Verse 23: “The hour has come”: So far we have been told that Jesus’ time has not yet come. [ BlkJn] His final manifestation was at the cross: see 7:30 (“no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come”); 8:20; 13:1; 17:1. [ NOAB] Jesus speaks to the disciples. [ NJBC]
Verse 24: By means of a parable, Jesus explains how his death will enable the Gentiles to see him. In 1 Corinthians 15:36 Paul writes: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies”. See also Mark 4:8, the parable of the sower. [ BlkJn] This saying was probably a common proverb, which John has probably shaped to the situation by emphasizing the fact that the seed remains alone above ground. [ NJBC]
Verse 25: In Mark 8:35, Jesus foretells that “‘those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it’”. See also Matthew 10:39; Luke 9:24; 14:26. [ BlkJn]
Verse 25: “love their life ... hate their life”: The Greek word translated “life”, psuche, means the essence of being . BlkJn considers that the plain contrast of “loves” and “hates” sounds more probably authentic than Mark’s “want to save their life” and “lose”.
Verse 26a: Service to Christ means sharing his lot, whatever that may entail. A similar thought is found in Mark 8:34: “‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’”. [ BlkJn] The identity of Jesus and his followers will be emphasized in the farewell discourse: see 13:13, 16; 15:20. [ NJBC]
Verse 26b: The follower who shares Jesus’ suffering will also share the honour that God gives him. In 17:24, Jesus prays: “‘Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world’”. [ BlkJn] This idea reappears in the love language of the farewell discourses: see 14:23 and 16:27. [ NJBC]
Verses 27-30: These verses remind us of the Gethsemane story in the Synoptic gospels: see, for example, Mark 14:34-36. [ NJBC]
Verse 28: “Father, glorify your name”: Jesus prays that he may completely accept his Father’s will. In the Old Testament, both the glory of God and his “name” are means whereby God is made known to be what he is. (See, for example, Exodus 33:18-22.) God will thus make himself known through the death of Christ. [ BlkJn]
Verse 28: “a voice came from heaven”: As at Jesus’ baptism (see Mark 1:11; Matthew 3:17; Luke 3:22) and at his transfiguration (see Mark 9:7; Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35), and at Paul’s conversion (see Acts 9:4). [ BlkJn]
Verse 29: “thunder”: The Greek word is bronte, a noun. In the Old Testament, thunder is recognized as the voice of God. [ BlkJn] Psalm 29:3 says: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters”. In the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew, “thunders” is brontaw , a verb derived from the same root. For bronte, see also the Septuagint translation of Psalms 77:18; 104:7; Job 26:14; Isaiah 29:6. For brontaw, see also 1 Samuel 2:10; 7:10; 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalms 18:14; 29:3; Job 37:4-5; 40:9. [Lorinda Hoover] Gentiles would also recognize thunder as an omen. [ BlkJn]
Verse 31: “the ruler of this world”: He rules de facto because people have delivered themselves into his power by becoming slaves to sin. Elsewhere he is called “the evil one” (in 1 John 5:19), “the devil” (in John 8:44), and “Satan” (in John 13:27; Revelation 12:9; 20:2). In 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8, Paul calls him “the rulers of this age”. [ BlkJn] Satan as ruler of the world in its opposition to God is a frequent figure in the Qumran literature: see 1QM (War Scroll) 1:1, 5, 13; 4:2; 11:8; 1QS (Rule of the Community) 1:18; 2:29; 3:20-21. [ NJBC]
24 Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, 1980
25 The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary
26 Richard Allen, First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1831
27 Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines, and of Western New York, 1929
29 John Keble, Priest, 1866
OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 31: 31 - 34 (all)
Jere 31:31 (NRSV) The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
PSALM 51: 1 - 13 (RCL)
51: 1 - 2, 10 - 13 (Roman Catholic)
Psal 51:1 (NRSV) Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Note: Verse numbering in your psalter may differ from the above
51 Miserere mei, Deus (ECUSA BCP)
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
.
4 Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
and sinners shall return to you.
Psalm 119: 9 - 16 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 119:9 (NRSV) How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
119 Beth In quo corrigit? (ECUSA BCP)
9 How shall a young man cleanse his way? *
By keeping to your words.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; *
let me not stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your promise in my heart, *
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; *
instruct me in your statutes.
13 With my lips will I recite *
all the judgments of your mouth.
14 I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees *
than in all manner of riches.
15 I will meditate on your commandments *
and give attention to your ways.
16 My delight is in your statutes; *
I will not forget your word.
NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 5: 5 - 10 (RCL)
5: 7 - 9 (Roman Catholic)
Hebr 5:5 (NRSV) So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
"You are my Son,
today I have begotten you";
6 as he says also in another place,
"You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchiz'edek."
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchiz'edek.
h/t Montreal Anglican
The author has spoken of the Jewish high priesthood; he has said that a (human) high priest was “put in charge of things pertaining to God” (v. 1), on behalf of the people, to offer sacrifices for their sins. Since he himself from time to time offended God by sinning unintentionally, “he is able to deal gently” (v. 2) with others who commit such sins, and “must offer sacrifice for his own sins” (v. 3) as well. Further, one could only become a high priest when called by God – “one does not presume to take this honour” (v. 4).
Now the author tells us how Jesus, whom he sees as a high priest, is like (and unlike) a Judaic high priest. Jesus too was called by God (v. 5): some manuscripts of Luke 3:22 record that, at his baptism, the “voice” speaks the words quoted here. But Jesus, per Psalm 110:4, is different: he is a priest “forever” (v. 6). (“Melchizedek” is mentioned in Genesis 14:17-20; there he brings bread and wine, and blesses Abram. In Hebrews, he resembles the Son of God and lives for ever: he is a supernatural figure foreshadowing the eternity of the Son of God – see 7:2-3.) During Jesus’ earthly life (“the days of his flesh”, v. 7), he prayed to God, to the one who could deliver him from death. But, although he was already God’s “Son” (v. 8), he “learned obedience”, he obeyed the will of the Father, he submitted reverently (v. 7): this involved suffering and death. But the Father did hear his plea: he rose again from death. He was then “made perfect” (v. 9): his priesthood was completed in his sacrifice for the sins of us all, and he was raised to be with the Father. In this way, he brings salvation to all who follow him. This salvation is forever (unlike the limited duration of that brought by Judaic high priests). He is high priest for ever.
4:14-5:14: The author resumes the theme of Jesus our high priest. In 2:17-18, he speaks of Jesus as “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God”. Jesus has two qualifications of a priest: divine appointment (see 5:4) and the ability to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (see 4:15). [ NOAB]
4:14: “great high priest”: Philo uses this designation for the Logos (the “word” of John 1:1-14) in his writings. Elsewhere in Hebrews, Christ is simply the “high priest”. He may include “great” here because he is making a comparison. [ NJBC]
4:14: “who has passed through the heavens”: That Christ was pre-existent is meant. 1:1-2 say: “God ... has spoken to us by a Son, ... through whom he also created the worlds”. Note the plurals. The Greek word translated as “worlds”, aion, can also mean ages. There appears to be the concept of a number of worlds, the visible and the invisible, the latter being several heavens. 2 Enoch 3-20 also speak of multiple heavens. [ NJBC]
4:15-16: Because Christ experienced real, human testing, he is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses”. [ NOAB]
4:15: “tested as we are, yet without sin”: The author says that the only difference between Jesus’ temptations and ours is that he did not succumb to them. [ NJBC]
4:16: At God’s “throne of grace” (see also 8:1 and 12:2) humans “receive mercy” for past sins and “find grace” for present and future “need”. [ NOAB] Here the author thinks of the confident access to God that has been assured by the redemptive work of Jesus. [ NJBC]
5:1: “gifts and sacrifices”: To NOAB, grain and animal sacrifices; however NJBC thinks that no such distinction is intended. As Chapter 9 shows, the author is principally concerned with the Day of Atonement rite as the Old Testament type. [ NJBC]
5:2: The Old Testament provides no atoning sacrifice for deliberate and defiant sins (see Numbers 15:30 and Deuteronomy 17:12), only for sins committed unwittingly – by the “ignorant and wayward”: see Leviticus 4. Numbers 15:30 says “But whoever acts high-handedly ... affronts the LORD, and shall be cut off from among the people.” “Cut off” means shall receive the death penalty. [ NOAB]
5:2: “deal gently”: The Greek word corresponds to a term of Stoic philosophy signifying the right mean between passion and lack of feeling . [ NJBC]
5:4: “Aaron”: In Exodus 28:1 God chooses Aaron and his sons as priests. [ NOAB]
5:5: “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’”: This is also found in Psalm 2:7, so the author may be reinterpreting this psalm in Christian terms, as was often done with Psalm 110:4. [ CAB]
5:6: Psalm 110 begins: “The Lord [ Yahweh] says to my lord ...”. In Judaism, “my lord” is David, but early Christians reinterpreted it as Christ; thus God the Father says to God the Son, the Lord. So “you” here is Christ. In Hebrews 7:1-10, the author deduces from Genesis 14:17-20 (where King Melchizedek of Salem, a “priest of God Most High”, brings out “bread and wine” and blesses Abram, and in return receives a tithe from him) that this mysterious priest-king was greater than either Abraham or his descendant Levi. [ NOAB]
5:6: “the order of Melchizedek”: i.e. According to the rank which Melchizedek held. [ NOAB]
5:7-8: Note that one trait Jesus does not share with the Judaic high priest is “weakness” (v. 2). In 7:28, the author specifically contrasts Jesus with the Jewish high priest in this respect. It is important, however, to note that the contrast applies to the present exalted state of Christ. While on earth, Jesus experienced the weakness of human nature, especially its fear of death. Exalted, he can sympathize with those who are weak. Paul’s concept is similar: “he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:4). [ NJBC]
5:7: Jesus’ agonizing prayer in Gethsemane (see Mark 14:32-42) “was heard” in the sense that “he learned obedience” by submitting to the divine will – which involved death. [ NOAB] Some scholars see here a reference to more than just this one incident. [ NJBC]
5:8: “Although he was a Son”: The author considers Jesus’ sonship in two different ways:
He became Son when exalted, and
He was always Son because he existed with the Father even before he appeared on earth.
Later theology said that the resurrection-exaltation gave Jesus’ human nature full participation in his divine nature. The two concepts are entirely compatible. [ NJBC]
5:8: “he learned obedience”: Learning through suffering is a common motif in Greek literature. In the New Testament it occurs only here, in Romans 5:19 and in Philippians 2:8. [ NJBC]
5:9: “made perfect”: Jesus completed his divinely appointed discipline for priesthood. This phrase is characteristic of this letter (see also 2:10; 7:19, 28; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23) and means made complete, brought to maturity. [ NOAB] The Greek word, teleosis, is used in the Septuagint translation of priestly consecration, translating a Hebrew phrase to fill [the hands]: see Exodus 29:9, 29, 33, 35; Leviticus 16:32; 21:10; Numbers 3:3. This cultic notion of perfection is certainly present in Hebrews. [ NJBC]
5:9: “eternal salvation”: The author uses the word “eternal” here and in 9:12, 14,15; 13:20 (but not in 6:2) to speak of realities that endure because they belong to the heavenly sphere, which is characterized by permanence, as opposed to the transitory realities of earth. [ NJBC]
GOSPEL: John 12: 20 - 33 (all)
John 12:20 (NRSV) Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsa'ida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
At the time of the Passover (“the festival”), some Gentiles (“Greeks”) travel to Jerusalem, probably because they believe in God. Their request “to see Jesus” (v. 21, to understand his message), is conveyed to him by “Andrew and Philip” (v. 22), the two disciples with Greek names. Jesus takes this opportunity to announce that his “hour” (v. 23), his time of self revelation, determined by God, has come. He can now tell what it means for the Son to be glorified. When Jesus is glorified, then all people will truly be able to see him, but this is not the time for interviews.
He uses an example from nature to speak of the significance of his death: the paradox that a “grain of wheat” (v. 24) only bears fruit after it seems to have died and has been buried. Jesus’ death makes possible salvation for others. That the meaning of life eludes those who live it up is also a paradox; self-centeredness ends up destroying a person. (“Hate”, v. 25, is a Semitism for love less.) Serving Jesus involves following his example; this will be honoured by the Father (v. 26). In v. 27, Jesus struggles with his impending death: should he ask the Father to free him from the need to suffer and die? No, he says: such avoidance would negate his mission; his death is God’s will (v. 28a). The voice from heaven reassures: his lifework and teaching have been signs of God’s glory, of his power and presence; God will act again in raising him. The crowd miss the point of the message (v. 29), so Jesus tells them that God has spoken so that they may believe that he comes from God; he already knows this (“not for mine”, v. 30). This is when (“now”, v. 31) those who willfully turn away from him (“this world”) are condemned (it is they who are judged, not him), and when the devil (“the ruler of this world”) ceases to have power over people. When he is “lifted up from the earth” (v. 32), i.e. crucified and exalted in glory, salvation of all will be possible. This is the paradoxical “kind of death” (v. 33) he will endure.
After two contrasting scenes of the anointing of Jesus and his entry into Jerusalem, there follows an episode which deals with the contrasting reactions of Gentiles (vv. 20-36) and of Jews (vv. 44-50) to the impact of Christ on Jerusalem. [ BlkJn] This section is the conclusion of Jesus’ public ministry. [ NOAB]
Verse 20: “some Greeks”: Josephus, in Jewish Wars 6.9.3, reports that God-fearing Gentiles came to Jerusalem to worship at Passover. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “Philip”: Meaning lover of horses. [ NOAB] He responds to Jesus’ command “Follow me” in 1:43-48. Jesus tests Philip in 6:5-7. [ NJBC]
Verse 22: Philip’s hesitation is natural enough. He must have known that Jesus had little to do with Gentiles, and no vocation to any ministry towards them. In Matthew 15:24, when a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus seeking a cure for her daughter, Jesus responds “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. [ BlkJn]
Verse 22: “Andrew”: Meaning manly. He was also from “Bethsaida” (v. 21). [ NOAB]
Verse 23: “The hour has come”: So far we have been told that Jesus’ time has not yet come. [ BlkJn] His final manifestation was at the cross: see 7:30 (“no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come”); 8:20; 13:1; 17:1. [ NOAB] Jesus speaks to the disciples. [ NJBC]
Verse 24: By means of a parable, Jesus explains how his death will enable the Gentiles to see him. In 1 Corinthians 15:36 Paul writes: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies”. See also Mark 4:8, the parable of the sower. [ BlkJn] This saying was probably a common proverb, which John has probably shaped to the situation by emphasizing the fact that the seed remains alone above ground. [ NJBC]
Verse 25: In Mark 8:35, Jesus foretells that “‘those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it’”. See also Matthew 10:39; Luke 9:24; 14:26. [ BlkJn]
Verse 25: “love their life ... hate their life”: The Greek word translated “life”, psuche, means the essence of being . BlkJn considers that the plain contrast of “loves” and “hates” sounds more probably authentic than Mark’s “want to save their life” and “lose”.
Verse 26a: Service to Christ means sharing his lot, whatever that may entail. A similar thought is found in Mark 8:34: “‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’”. [ BlkJn] The identity of Jesus and his followers will be emphasized in the farewell discourse: see 13:13, 16; 15:20. [ NJBC]
Verse 26b: The follower who shares Jesus’ suffering will also share the honour that God gives him. In 17:24, Jesus prays: “‘Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world’”. [ BlkJn] This idea reappears in the love language of the farewell discourses: see 14:23 and 16:27. [ NJBC]
Verses 27-30: These verses remind us of the Gethsemane story in the Synoptic gospels: see, for example, Mark 14:34-36. [ NJBC]
Verse 28: “Father, glorify your name”: Jesus prays that he may completely accept his Father’s will. In the Old Testament, both the glory of God and his “name” are means whereby God is made known to be what he is. (See, for example, Exodus 33:18-22.) God will thus make himself known through the death of Christ. [ BlkJn]
Verse 28: “a voice came from heaven”: As at Jesus’ baptism (see Mark 1:11; Matthew 3:17; Luke 3:22) and at his transfiguration (see Mark 9:7; Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35), and at Paul’s conversion (see Acts 9:4). [ BlkJn]
Verse 29: “thunder”: The Greek word is bronte, a noun. In the Old Testament, thunder is recognized as the voice of God. [ BlkJn] Psalm 29:3 says: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters”. In the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew, “thunders” is brontaw , a verb derived from the same root. For bronte, see also the Septuagint translation of Psalms 77:18; 104:7; Job 26:14; Isaiah 29:6. For brontaw, see also 1 Samuel 2:10; 7:10; 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalms 18:14; 29:3; Job 37:4-5; 40:9. [Lorinda Hoover] Gentiles would also recognize thunder as an omen. [ BlkJn]
Verse 31: “the ruler of this world”: He rules de facto because people have delivered themselves into his power by becoming slaves to sin. Elsewhere he is called “the evil one” (in 1 John 5:19), “the devil” (in John 8:44), and “Satan” (in John 13:27; Revelation 12:9; 20:2). In 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8, Paul calls him “the rulers of this age”. [ BlkJn] Satan as ruler of the world in its opposition to God is a frequent figure in the Qumran literature: see 1QM (War Scroll) 1:1, 5, 13; 4:2; 11:8; 1QS (Rule of the Community) 1:18; 2:29; 3:20-21. [ NJBC]
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